


Deckerstar One-Shots

by mythical_nova



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, BAMF Chloe Decker, BAMF Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV), Chloe decker - Freeform, DeckerStar fic, Deckerstar - Freeform, Gen, Lucifer Morningstar - Freeform, Lucifer Morningstar is bad at feelings (but didn't we all know that already), but i tried, deckerstar fanfiction, don't know how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 43,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26864860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythical_nova/pseuds/mythical_nova
Summary: One-Shot Compilation featuring Deckerstar!The Detective and the Devil have quite a ways to go in their partnership. Here's the little snippets of moments that follow them along the way.Enjoy! :D(Some of these one-shots stray from canon. They're not in chronological order, nor do they follow a specific timeline.)
Relationships: Chloe Decker & Lucifer Morningstar, Chloe Decker/Lucifer Morningstar
Comments: 142
Kudos: 261





	1. Hope//Deckerstar-One Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during the season 4 finale. Major spoilers: do not read this chapter if you haven't seen the season 4 finale. Enjoy!

_What had he done?_

The thoughts in Lucifer's mind raced far faster than any descent from Heaven that he had gone through. He certainly had done it now. If the Detective- if she wasn't terrified out of her wits before, she would definitely be now.

He had shown her his entire form.

Sure, it had been with good intent. The Detective was being dragged away by the demons, by his demons, and he couldn't let her get hurt. No, he couldn't let them take her. So he did it. He displayed his wings, his Devil face, everything. The action yielded the desired results. The demons backed down and the Detective was able to get away without a single scratch. Physically, anyway.

But now the Detective had disappeared somewhere outside and Lucifer was left standing in the middle of the room, the floor covered with the dead bodies that previously held the souls of those demons. Oh, if only he could get his hands on all of them. The kind of punishment they would undergo would be enough the fuel the nightmares of the Devil himself. Pun intended.

Lucifer forcibly yanked himself out of his own thoughts. Now wasn't the time for daydreaming punishments for those disobedient demons of his. Right now, he had to make sure that the Detective was safe. Even if she never wanted to see him ever again. Which, as Lucifer knew, was probably the case.

Lucifer walked over plenty of bodies that laid dormant before finding himself at the door. He held the knob for a moment, although he wasn’t sure why. Linda would probably say that it was because he was scared of what he might find on the other side. Still, he never listened to Linda’s advice anyway.

Much like ripping off a band aid, Lucifer turned the knob and looked up only to have his heart drop into his stomach when he saw exactly what he feared.

Nothing.

There was no Detective, no sign that she was ever there.

He walked out of the room and looked to his left and his right, hoping that she was there waiting for him somewhere on the street. Still, as Lucifer had learned in his many years of living, hope was dangerous. Hope was stupid.

Hope was like a sweet lie that your mind whispered to you constantly, that kept you warm in those moments of freezing dread only to rip away the blanket as soon as cold wind blew by. Lucifer never held hope for anything--at least not before he met the Detective. Then she burst into his life like a bright lighthouse, lighting his dark and cold life and filling it with hope.

Hope was stupid. Hope was a dangerous.

And so, Lucifer stood there, for once in his immortal life, frozen to the spot. The Detective was gone and he had done exactly what he was most afraid of doing ever since the first moment that they met.

He scared her.

He lost her.

“Lucifer?”

And there it was, back again. That stupid, dangerous spark that blazed in his heart like a fire every time that he saw her or heard her melodic voice.

Hope.

Lucifer slowly turned to see the Detective standing a few feet away from him. “Detective.” Lucifer spoke gently, as if any word he said that was too abrasive or too strong would make the Detective come to her senses and run like mad far away from Lucifer and the monster that he was.

“I, uh- Charlie's okay. I gave him to Amenadiel, he says that he’ll be fine once he gets home.” The Detective stammered out her words, one after the next. Lucifer could only nod in response. He knew what would come out of her mouth next-- it was only a matter of time before it did.

She would tell him that she didn’t love him. Not in the way that he loved her. She would tell him that he was a monster, that she wished she never met him on that day. As much as Lucifer tried to brace himself for the utter heartbreak that would come next, he knew his life wouldn’t be the same.

Lucifer snapped out of his own thoughts only to see that the detective had stepped closer to him. She was only an arm’s reach away. Why had she come closer to him? Maybe it was an accident, or she was still in a trance from seeing him in the entirety of his true form.

“Are you okay?”

Lucifer was stunned. Out of all of the combinations of words that could form a sentence, those three words were three words that Lucifer never expected her to say in this moment. Keeping up his flair of nonchalance, he fidgeted with the cuffs on his jacket and gave her one of his signature smirks. (Although, it probably looked more lopsided and nervous rather than calm and collected in his state.)

“Of course, Detective.” Lucifer looked down awkwardly before meeting her eyes once again. “Are you...alright?”

The detective nodded slowly and gave him a small smile, the corners of her mouth turning up softly. “I’m okay.” Lucifer’s heart was beating like a hummingbird’s wings but if the hummingbird had a particularly fun time with some narcotics beforehand.

He stood there, watching her from an arm’s distance. He traced the features on her worried face, knowing that he’d most likely never see it again. Waiting for the other shoe to drop was proving extremely difficult, especially when the detective was right there, so close to him.

The detective took another step and Lucifer’s breath hitched. Wasn’t it about time for her to say her piece and leave him, for good? How long was Lucifer going to be subjected to this torture of being so close to the lighthouse, his only source of hope, yet being unable to hold her? To envelop her in his arms and to not make the stupid mistake of leaving her again?

“Can’t you just get it over with?”

He didn’t expect the words to come out of his mouth, but once he did, he immediately felt a pang of regret in his heart when her eyebrows furrowed, and he could feel the hurt radiating from her.

“Get what over with, Lucifer?”

Lucifer couldn’t look into her eyes anymore- those beautiful blue eyes that sustained him through many a boring case and the eyes that sustained him when he was away from her for too long. “The rejection. You know, the part where you tell me all about what a monster I am, the evil demon that I am inside.” Lucifer’s words spilled out, one after the other, his eyes feeling like they would pop from the amount of pressure in his skull. “Can’t you just say all that and we can move on with both of our lives, detective?”

Another step she took closer to him, another hummingbird that joined the party in his chest. “You’re not a monster, Lucifer. I told you, I don’t see you that way.” Lucifer looked up at her. She was now only a foot’s distance away. “What happened in there, that doesn’t change anything.”

Hope.

“I still...” The detective chuckled and bit her lip. “Nothing’s changed. You did what you had to do to save me. To save Charlie, who’s now safe at home with his parents. That doesn’t sound like a monster to me.”

Lucifer shifted on his feet. Even if she truly believed her own words, there was still the danger that the demons would come back and wreak havoc on Earth. Or even worse, they’d come back knowing about Lucifer’s attachment to the detective. That meant that the detective would be in danger, and that was something Lucifer wouldn’t allow. He couldn’t.

The detective put her hand on his cheek and stared into his eyes. His stomach whirled with those stupid and dangerous emotions as he fought the urge to close the distance between them and kiss her. Instead, he stood there awkwardly as she kept her hand where it was, bringing at least three hummingbirds into Lucifer’s chest cavity.

“Um...guys?”

Lucifer and the detective were both startled at the sudden voice that didn’t belong to either of them. The detective had removed her hand-which hadn’t gone unnoticed by Lucifer- and turned her attention to Daniel, who was standing in the middle of the room that still held the dead bodies that laid on the floor. Right, that probably had to be explained.

The detective turned back to Lucifer and gave him a smile. “I- yeah, I should probably deal with that.” Lucifer smiled in response, both relieved and pained that the detective was going to leave.

“Right.”

The detective proceeded to lean in and kiss Lucifer on the cheek softly. “I’ll see you later at Lux, yeah?”

Lucifer nodded slowly. “I’ll see you then, Detective.”

The detective turned to leave, and Lucifer felt that blaze of hope fill him for a moment. “Chloe?”

“Yeah?” Her eyes glimmered as she turned to him, and he knew that she was feeling what he felt too.

The hope only lasted for a moment.

Lucifer exhaled. He knew what had to be done, but if he could savor this moment, this one moment, that would be all the hope that he would need. His lighthouse was standing right in front of him, and he swore to himself that no matter what happened next, that hope would carry them through.

“Never mind. Go deal with Detective Douche over there.” Lucifer smirked and the detective rolled her eyes in that way she always did when he said something she didn’t agree with, or if he said something inappropriate. He loved it when she did that.

Finally, the detective walked away from him, and Lucifer watched as she left. What was going to happen next was going to be difficult. Extremely, _extremely_ difficult. But in that moment where the detective held him and kissed him, that’s when he knew it had to happen. For her. To protect her. To protect the hope that they both held, the stupid hope that his lighthouse brought to him.

That stupid hope was going to be the only thing to get him through it.


	2. Vulnerable//Deckerstar One-Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place during season one, episodes 10 and 11. Basically focuses on what happens after Chloe falls asleep on Lucifer, but from his perspective. Enjoy! :D

"I just feel like an idiot. I can't believe that I would let myself care for him again! I mean, why? So I get hurt?" The detective slurred out her words as Lucifer lead her to the couch so she could sit down. Lucifer had been leaving the penthouse to meet up with the Brittanies, when the detective came out of the elevator, clearly intoxicated and upset over Detective Douche's breaking up with her over text--Lucifer had made a mental note to certainly have a chat with him later--but right now, he had to make sure that the detective was alright.

"No, because you're a prying person who puts the needs of others before your own. It's a horrible irony that my father invented." Lucifer looked at the detective up and down. She really didn't look like she was doing too well--which, if Lucifer was being honest, he could understand. Rejection was an all-too familiar feeling.

"...But you don't do that. You just take what you want." The detective smiled, and Lucifer felt his stomach tumble, which was most probably indigestion. Nothing else. "Since the beginning of time." Lucifer confirmed uneasily.

"That's nice." The detective chuckled, then leaned into Lucifer slowly as if to kiss him. Even though his annoyance of a brother hadn't been around, time almost seemed to slow down in Lucifer's mind. Sure, this is what he had wanted since he had met the detective. Hell, for a while there, his only goal had been to sleep with the detective just to get her out of his head. But here? Now? While she was clearly out of her wits and vulnerable and extremely intoxicated?

Lucifer found himself unconsciously leaning back, trying to keep himself away from her. As much as he may have wanted to, he couldn't. For some odd reason, he couldn't take advantage of her. "What's happening?" The detective asked, searching his face.

"It would seem that I'm saying no." Lucifer put his hand up as if to stop her from coming any closer.

"...But you've been trying to get me into bed since day one. Why are you saying no?" The detective backed away slightly and furrowed her eyebrows, seeming more confused rather than offended.

"Well frankly, my dear, I'm as baffled as you are." Lucifer sat up, prompting the detective to completely sit upright. "I mean, usually I'd leap at the chance to fulfill my carnal desire, but for some reason..." he trailed off, staring into space instead of the detective. "I can't."

The detective snapped out of her drunken haze for a moment as she put her head in her hands. "What am I doing?" She shook her head, realizing what just happened. "Why am I here, drunk, throwing myself at you? This is so sad..." She groaned, letting her hands fall into her lap.

"It happens to the best, I promise." Lucifer wanted to quickly dissipate any notion that the detective was doing something wrong. Being drunk wasn't a crime--and he should know, being an official consultant for the LAPD-- especially for the one person he knew that never let loose or made mistakes.

"But not to me! I don't do this." The detective looked blankly into space. "This is something...my mom would do."

Lucifer sighed. Unfortunately, family troubles was something he could definitely relate to. "Come here." He put his arm around the detective, taking her in for a hug. She immediately melted into him, which made his stomach undergo that terrible indigestion again. "We don't all turn into our parents, Detective. I mean, look at me!" Lucifer chuckled dryly, glancing briefly at the detective, whose breathing had slowed. "I don't think I've ever been the son he wants me to be. I, uh..."

Sudden snoring coming from the detective cut Lucifer short. She had fallen asleep.

"Oh, God."

Lucifer stared up at the sky as he couldn't believe the words that just came out of his own mouth- but nevermind that. The fact that the detective had come to his penthouse after what had happened with her ex was far more unbelievable. The most shocking thing? The fact that he turned her down.

He turned his attention back to the detective. She was still snoring softly, and Lucifer couldn't help but smile. Taking advantage of her would be wrong of course, but maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad to sit there for a little while. After all, knowing the detective, she'd probably wake up tomorrow morning in an embarrassed frenzy. She'd recite her 'you and me will never happen' speech, she'd roll her eyes at him like she always did, and she'd run out making a promise to herself to never speak of this again.

So, Lucifer decided. I'll just enjoy this little moment.  
-  
An hour or so had passed, and Lucifer had made himself a little more comfortable--almost falling asleep himself-- despite the fact that his arm was falling asleep around his sleeping partner. The detective began to stir, mumbling something under her breath which startled Lucifer. "Hm?”

She continued to utter words that Lucifer couldn't decipher. "Detective, I'm afraid I can't hear you." He moved his arm away from her, finally letting some blood circulate, but keeping it nearby just in case she happened to fall back on the couch.

"Too hot..." The detective looked around at her surroundings, and Lucifer could guess that she was entirely out of it at this point. "Detective, are you all right?" He asked worriedly.

"It's too hot in this five-star hell hole!" She yelled loudly, slamming her hands on her knees. She looked at him briefly before getting up and stumbling towards his bedroom. Lucifer quickly got up and followed her before putting his hand on her back to steady her. "Detective, I'd imagine you should probably sit down."

"I'll sit down when I want to sit down." The detective murmured. Once she found her way to Lucifer's bed, she began to do what would surprise even the Devil--which, it did--she began to undress.

Shockingly, Lucifer leaped forward to stop her. "Detective, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting naked, whaddya think I'm doing?"

"Yes, well, I see that."

Obviously, nothing that Lucifer could do would stop this drunken woman from her rampage against her own clothing, so he turned around to give her some privacy as he rubbed his temples. This is definitely not what he had imagined in his fantasies surrounding the detective. Far from it, actually. "Detective?" Lucifer was hoping that she had somehow come to her senses and decided to keep her clothes on. Still, he stayed facing away from her.

"Detective, are you alright?" He questioned again before sighing and turning around. Ignoring the pile of clothes on the ground, Lucifer realized that the detective had found her way to his bed, covered partially by his blanket and quickly fell asleep. In normal circumstances, he would've rejoiced at the sight of the detective quite literally naked in his bed. However, these were not normal circumstances.

Lucifer softened at the sight. She had been so vulnerable, so heartbroken, and she decided to come to his penthouse. That did mean something to him--although he'd never admit it to her. She was interesting, fascinating even. She was one of the strongest humans that he knew, and he knew many humans in his time here on Earth. Quietly, as though not to wake her up, Lucifer walked to his bed and covered the rest of her body with the blanket. Her blonde hair was covering her face, so he moved a portion of it behind her ear and smiled softly at how peaceful she looked.

"Goodnight, Detective." He whispered, before leaving her to sleep in his bed and walking to the bar, pouring a glass of whiskey.

Tomorrow was going to be fun.


	3. Surprise//Deckerstar One-Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Established Deckerstar! Doesn't really go with canon, but there are vague season 3 spoilers. At a certain point in the story, a song begins to play, so if you'd like to listen along, here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHYPUPgN8Is Enjoy! :D

Chloe groaned and rubbed her eyes as she slammed the last folder of paperwork that she had finished filling out on her desk in frustration. This last case had been a particularly difficult one--it wasn't your run-of-the-mill case that Chloe had dealt with for years. Most of the time, the murders that she would solve had to do with passion, with anger. This killer was ruthless, unemotional, cold. He had no rhyme or reason to anything that he did. Soon, there were victims all over Los Angeles, and the killer started toying with the LAPD for weeks.

Chloe had been beyond stressed--this killer could strike at any minute, and he was so unpredictable that there was no way for her--or anyone--to tell what he would do next. Finally, one day, Chloe came face to face with this murderer. It had been one of the most intense, stressful showdowns that she ever engaged in, but she finally managed to shoot at the killer's leg and took him in. Now, he was going to be spending the rest of his miserable life in a jail cell, which provided little comfort to Chloe. _If only she had figured out who he was sooner, then maybe those poor people wouldn't have died._

Chloe leaned forward and let her head fall on her desk. It was almost midnight and Chloe was the last one in the precinct so that she could finish up all of the paperwork. Lucifer never helped out with that part, even when they started dating, but for some reason she had hoped that he would stick around for this one--knowing how much this case affected her, and all. A sigh escaped her lips as she stared down at the ground. Crap, she realized. I promised Trixie that I'd be home in time for game night. Chloe figured that Trixie had long since fallen asleep, but she still felt guilty. She had been putting off game night for days now so that she could finally solve this case, and now that she had, she was way too overwhelmed to even think about playing Monopoly.

Reluctantly, Chloe lifted her head and looked around at the empty precinct. Strangely, she wanted her partner here. He always knew how to make her feel better, even in the worst of times--which, if you asked Chloe, she'd say that this was a pretty bad time. He'd say some inappropriate joke, or he'd steal Dan's pudding, or he'd just give her a hug until she felt better. Right now, she could really use a hug.

"Detective?"

_Speak of the Devil._

"Lucifer? It's like..." Chloe glanced at the clock on her computer. "...midnight. What are you doing here?" Chloe tried her best to hide the smile on her face and got up from her chair to greet him.

"I could ask you the same thing, Detective. I would've thought that you'd be finished with that bloody paperwork hours ago." Lucifer smirked, and Chloe rolled her eyes.

“Well, maybe if I had a partner that would help me out with the paperwork.” Chloe teased, leaning forward towards Lucifer.

He leaned forward as well and their lips met in a short but sweet kiss. After a moment, Chloe reluctantly pulled away and looked at her desk, still littered with the remains of her paperwork. "I have to clean up and then get home to Trix. She's probably pissed that I didn't make it home..." Chloe trailed off, putting her head in her hands.

Lucifer gently grabbed them and held them in his own. "The little urchin is doing just fine. As it turns out, chocolate cake is quite the motivator."

Chloe's eyes widened. "Lucifer, you can't just bribe her with chocolate cake every time you want her to do something. She's going to catch on eventually."

Lucifer chuckled. "She is a clever little urchin. I've already lost quite a few bills from my wallet to her." Chloe scoffed and closed her eyes as she inhaled deeply to calm herself down. _Why am I dating this man?_

"Okay, Lucifer, I seriously need to clean up here, so-" Chloe began, turning around and heading to her desk.

"You don't need to worry about that right now, Detective. I have a surprise for you." Lucifer cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, putting his hands in his pockets.

Chloe arched an eyebrow at him before she realized what he meant. "No, Lucifer--I'm sorry, I'm just not in the mood right now. I still have so much to do here."

Lucifer started laughing--nervously, from what Chloe could gather--before he cleared his throat. "No no, Detective, not that kind of surprise. That's for later." Chloe glared at him, and he put his hands up in defense. "Kidding. Sort of."

Chloe rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Okay, what's the surprise?"

"Well, if I were to tell you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" Lucifer held up what looked like a blindfold with a smirk.

"I thought you said it 'wasn't that kind of surprise.'" Chloe mocked, grabbing the blindfold and studying it in her hands.

"It's not, unfortunately." Lucifer sighed dramatically which made Chloe chuckle. Once Lucifer got something in his head, it would take a miracle to get him to change his mind, so Chloe sighed as she tied the blindfold around her eyes and allowed Lucifer to lead her away from the precinct.

-

"Lucifer, I can tell that we're in an elevator."

Lucifer wouldn't let Chloe take off the blindfold on the way to her 'surprise', not even during the car ride--which, with Lucifer's driving, was terrifying to sit through. Finally, he led her to a building and into an elevator. "If we're going to Lux, you could have just told me instead of forcing me to be stuck in the dark this whole time."

"Detective, I have a method to my madness. And besides, you don't know if we're in an elevator."

"Yeah, no, I really do. Can I take this thing off now?"

"Not just yet."

Chloe exhaled, blowing a piece of her hair out of her face. She hated surprises in normal circumstances--considering her line of work--and the fact that she was especially paranoid because of this last case made her hate the thought of a surprise even more. Lucifer must have noticed her nervousness because he grabbed her hand and squeezed it in reassurance, which made Chloe's heart skip a few beats. Finally, Chloe felt the ground beneath her shift, and heard the elevator door open. Lucifer stepped out first and helped her get out, when he finally took the blindfold off of her and she gasped.

She had been right about one thing, he did take her to his penthouse. But what she hadn't expected was the sight of the penthouse entirely decorated--much like when he recreated a version of prom for her after he heard that she never went to her own prom. There were black, gold, and silver balloons that adorned the walls, and multiple bouquets of similar-colored flowers in vases. Candles littered the room, and she could even see a star projector in the corner of the room that hadn't been turned on yet. Chloe felt her face flush. Did Lucifer do all of this for her?

"Do you like it?" Lucifer's voice snapped Chloe out of her daze and she turned towards him, ignoring the smile that had formed on her face. "I love it, Lucifer. But why did you do all of this?"

Lucifer looked down and fiddled with the cuff on his sleeve. "You've been extremely stressed lately, Detective. What with this case and catching that horrid murderer that, I guarantee, will be punished in the worst way possible." He sighed and looked back up at her. "Seeing as though paperwork is _boring_ and you've already done the heavy lifting, I wanted to do my part to assist--as your partner, of course."

Chloe chuckled and looked back at the extravagant setup. It really was perfect. Suddenly, Lucifer cleared his throat. "It seems I've forgotten one small thing." He walked away from Chloe and towards his bedroom, which left Chloe to walk alone to the bar and pour herself a glass of whiskey. While she never enjoyed whiskey for the most part, she decided that today wouldn't be the worst day to have a drink.

As Chloe took a small sip from the glass, the lights in the penthouse started to dim, and the star projector had been turned on. The projector lit up the penthouse's walls with beautiful and contrasting stars, and they started to move around the room in hues of red, blue, and purple. Lucifer stepped out of his room with a red rose in one hand, and a small, black remote in the other.

"For you, my dear Detective." He said, handing her the rose. Chloe grabbed the rose and took a moment to smell it. The rose was fresh and it felt like it was definitely real. He then got the remote and pressed one of the buttons when a song began to play, the melody filling the entire room. When Chloe recognized the song, her heart skipped a beat. It was Chloe's favorite song.

"How did you-" Chloe furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She never told him her favorite song before.

"Like I said, the little urchin has taken more than a few of the bills from my wallet." Lucifer chuckled, and gave her a hopeful smile. Chloe felt her heart well up with what she could only discern as love for the man standing before her. Just less than an hour ago, she had been wishing that he was thoughtful enough to stick around for her at the precinct. She had no clue that he was putting all of this together.

(if you're listening along, play the song that's in the summary now! :D)

Lucifer held out his hand as if he were asking her to dance. She happily complied, giving him her hand and letting him lead her to the middle of the room. They stood there for a moment before Lucifer put his hand around her waist, bringing her in closer as they started to sway to the melody. Chloe couldn't help but hum along softly to the words as they played in the background.

_My house in Budapest, my hidden treasure chest._

_Golden grand piano, my beautiful Castillo._

_You, ooh, you, ooh._

_I'd leave it all._

Chloe's attention was directed behind Lucifer's head as she watched the stars on the walls move slowly, bouncing off of each other and changing colors every so often. She looked back at Lucifer, and her face flushed again when she realized that he had been staring at her the whole time. "Thank you, Lucifer. I didn't expect any of this."

Lucifer smiled in response. “It was my pleasure, Detective.”

_Give me one good reason why I should never make a change._

_'Cause baby, if you hold me, then all of this will go away._

"I do hope you know that I would do that for you." Lucifer glanced down before meeting her eyes again. "Do what, Lucifer?" Chloe questioned, pressing her eyebrows together.

"I'd leave everything. My throne, my money. Maybe not the piano, but..." he trailed off, making Chloe chuckle as he spun her around before bringing her back to their regular swaying. "If you asked me to, I would leave it all." He donned a more serious tone, which made Chloe realize he was serious.

"I could never ask that of you, Lucifer. I wouldn't."

Lucifer's eyes turned glassy, but he simply nodded in silence as the song continued to play.

_My friends and family,_

_They, don't understand._

_They fear they'd lose so much, if you take my hand._

_But for you, ooh, you, ooh, I'd lose it all._

At this moment, it really hit her that the actual Devil, the one who symbolizes the embodiment of everything evil in the world, put this much effort into making Chloe happy. He was willing to let go of everything for her, Chloe Decker, a mere human. He was vulnerable around her, yet he didn't care. She tried lowering her head to hide the redness blooming in her face, but Lucifer caught on. "What is it, Detective?" He furrowed his eyebrows in concern.

She looked up and shook her head with a smile. "It's nothing."

"Well, I wouldn't think it's nothing. You know that you can tell me anything."

Chloe sighed and used her hand to push his head forward so that their foreheads touched as they danced to the music. "I love you, Lucifer Morningstar."

Lucifer's eyes widened and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly before he sighed contently. "And I, you, Chloe Decker."

They leaned into each other, their lips connecting softly. They stopped swaying for a moment, simply taking in the other and letting time stop for a minute as they kissed in the middle of the penthouse, the lights of the stars flowing past them. Finally, Chloe pulled away and brought him into a hug, his arms slowly wrapping around her in surprise. Chloe's heart felt like it was beating a million times a second, but in that moment, there was nowhere else she'd rather be.

As they resumed swaying to the soft melody, Chloe felt the same level of content. Sure, she normally hated surprises. But this time?

Maybe this one time, a surprise wasn't so bad.


	4. Friday//Deckerstar One-Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Major Season 4 Spoilers!! Do not read if you haven't watched season 4 of Lucifer.  
> \-------
> 
> Takes place two months after Lucifer leaves to go rule Hell. Imagine season 5A hasn't happened. Enjoy!

It was a Friday night. 

Chloe was about to do something she hadn’t done in years, not since the day her father died.

Chloe was about to pray.

Chloe drove to Lux after work, a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel as she passed by building after building, each one becoming fuzzier than the last with her increasing speed. “Why, Detective! I didn’t know you knew how to go above the speed limit. Good on you.” She could almost hear him say, but when she glanced beside her, there was nothing but silence in the passenger’s seat.

As she slammed the car door and walked past the valet, she made her way into the club. It was rowdy as it always was, the buzzing of intoxication surrounding the air and the sounds of customers delving into their deepest desires. Music thumped through Chloe’s body and she could feel the bass on the floor beneath her, but she continued on her journey to the elevator, passing through groups of people before she finally made it, closing the doors in front of her and standing in the elevator quietly as it rose through the floors.

The doors opened, and Chloe stepped through and stood in front of the penthouse, her hands clenched into fists. The penthouse looked _exactly_ the same as it had on that day, two months ago. The day that she stood on the balcony with him. The day that she told him that she loved him. The day that he left.

Chloe felt tears come to her eyes, but she blinked them back. She wanted this to work, badly, and it wouldn’t work if she was being overly emotional.

_About a month ago, Chloe had come to Maze about talking to Amenadiel for her. Maybe he could convince Lucifer to come back, she reasoned._

_“If you want to talk to Amenadiel, you could just try praying.” Maze had answered nonchalantly as she sharpened one of her knives at the kitchen table._

_“Praying? Does that actually work?” Chloe raised her eyebrows. Sure, she knew Amenadiel was an angel, but she figured that people probably prayed all the time—how could one angel listen to all of them as they came in?_

_Maze shrugged. “It used to work for me. Of course, he doesn’t answer me anymore.”_

_“So, they can choose not to answer you?”_

_“Duh. If every angel answered every prayer they got, they wouldn’t have time to be such asses.”_

_Maze rolled her eyes as if she relived a bad memory and got up from her chair at the table, swirling her knives as she walked away. Chloe turned to the sink and washed some dishes that Trixie left behind absentmindedly. Angels can really hear prayers, huh?_

Lucifer may have been the Devil, but he was also an angel. Using that logic, if she tried praying to him, maybe he’d hear her and come back. She spent the next month gathering the courage to actually attempt this—she had her doubts, of course. What if he just _decided_ not to answer her? Not to hear her at all, even?

No, he wouldn’t do that. Not to her.

At least, she hoped.

Chloe walked slowly to the balcony that held so many memories for her. She doubted that the location of the prayer mattered, but if it did, this would be the best place to do it. Maybe he’d find the humor in irony in it—Chloe praying to the Devil.

She cleared her throat awkwardly, the silence in the air hanging like a weighted blanket. She put her hands together in prayer—if it helped, she didn’t know—and sighed.

“Hey, uh, Lucifer?”

Chloe cringed internally. _Really, Decker? ‘Hey, uh, Lucifer?’_

She chuckled out loud dryly and dropped her hands for a second. “This is so stupid...” she muttered, bringing them back together. “So, er, I know this might not even work. I don’t know, the reception where you are might not be so great with the whole prayer thing.”

“And, you know, I don’t know if it’s like a credit system and the prayer won’t go through because I haven’t prayed in, well, years? Either way, I’m already standing here, so I might as well just get on with what I’m trying to say.”

_Pull yourself together, Decker._

-

Lucifer sighed. He hadn’t moved from his spot at the throne since he left Earth, at least thousand years ago. The temptation to move, to fly back up to his home, to her, it was a strong one. Even still, he fidgeted with the cuff on his jacket and watched the ground beneath him. His demons ran amuck, forgoing their hellish duties, but he allowed it for today. Today was a Friday, by his count—he might have been off, considering the fact that time moved differently in Hell, but he still tried his best to keep count of the days.

Fridays were special. Fridays reminded him of home, of Los Angeles, and of his first love.

Friday was the day that the Detective kissed him on the beach for the first time after he clearly stated plenty of reasons for her to get away from him, to move towards someone better than him. He closed his eyes then and imagined the smell of the beach, the sounds of the waves, and the feel of the Detective’s lips on his.

Friday was game night. The nights where Lucifer didn’t need to put up a front, and he laid on the ground with the Detective and her spawn, played silly games for hours, and wore face paint and ate lollipops. He quietly wondered if they continued game night after he left. He hoped they did.

Friday was the day that Lucifer finally realized that the Detective never needed him—she worked with him because she _wanted_ to. That was the day that he realized that she chose him after all. That was also the day that they kissed for the second time. Lucifer could still remember the night sky and the bright blue blazer that the Detective wore, and her distraught expression as a result of the tragedy that followed.

Finally, Friday was the day that he said goodbye to her. His knuckles clenched the side of the throne. There was no use in reliving these beautiful memories when he could never go back to her, to the humans he had grown to know and care for, but he couldn’t help himself.

These memories were all that sustained him here.

_“Hey, uh, Lucifer?”_

That voice. That beautiful, melodic voice. Surely, Lucifer must have gone mad, because there was no way that his Detective was here in Hell. He must be going insane with all of the time he had spent down here, maybe-

He heard a short chuckle. _“This is so stupid...”_

There was a pause, and Lucifer thought that he had pulled himself together when the voice began to speak again. _“So, er, I know this might not even work. I don’t know, the reception where you are might not be so great with the whole prayer thing.”_

Lucifer gasped softly. The Detective was praying? To _him_?

_“And, you know, I don’t know if it’s like a credit system and the prayer won’t go through because I haven’t prayed in, well, years? And I know it’s been two months, but...”_ Lucifer smiled sadly. He knew she never prayed, but he still chuckled at her credit system analogy. Had it already been two months? _“Either way, I’m already standing here, so I might as well just get on with what I’m trying to say.”_

The Detective sighed, and Lucifer fought the urge to fly to her immediately and embrace her. _“Trixie’s doing okay. She misses you—like, a lot.”_ She chuckled. _“She actually said ‘When he comes back, I’m going to make sure to give him an extra tight hug.’”_

For once, Lucifer didn’t shudder at the thought of the offspring giving him a hug. He actually wouldn’t mind one right now.

_“Maze is alright. She’s just being,”_ The Detective paused in thought. _“Maze, I guess. She’s off looking for bounties every other week. No need to worry though, she hasn’t killed off an entire country yet.”_ Lucifer chuckled. Mazikeen could be reckless, but she wouldn’t do anything to put the Detective or her offspring—especially the offspring—in any danger. He knew that she would take care of them.

_“Um...Amenadiel and Linda are doing okay. They’ve had their hands full with Charlie lately. I’ve barely heard from them since he was born._ ” Lucifer scoffed at the thought of his brother taking care of a baby—if only their mother could see them now. _“I should check up on Linda after this, actually._ ” the Detective muttered.

_“Ella’s doing fine. She’s dealing with some stuff right now. Apparently, she’s been sending you all of these memes on Instagram, so she’s a little pissed that you haven’t responded, but...she really misses you, too.”_

_“Dan, on the other hand...”_ The Detective laughed softly, which made Lucifer’s heart skip a beat. He loved her laugh.

_“He thinks you just left again to Las Vegas or something, so he’s putting on this angry front. I think a tiny part of him misses you too, but don’t tell him I told you that.”_

Lucifer sighed. It felt like he was back home for a moment until he glanced around at his surroundings and remembered. Right. He was still in Hell.

The Detective paused for a minute before continuing. _“Well, that’s everyone, I think.”_

Everyone except you, Lucifer thought. She probably didn’t want to worry him, and Lucifer loved her for it.

_“I miss you. I really, really miss you, Lucifer.”_ Lucifer felt his heart tie itself in knots. _“Things are definitely harder here without you. Do you know how many times I’m working a case, and I turn to ask you what you think, and you’re not there?_

Lucifer could hear the emotion in her voice, and he hated it. He wanted to be there with her, he wanted to make it all better, and he couldn’t do it from here.

_“That probably makes me sound pathetic but honestly...”_ she trailed off. “ _This is how things always work out with us, isn’t it_?”

Lucifer’s face softened.

_“I mean, we get so close, so many times, and something always happens. Of course, now literal demons are threatening to come to Earth and destroy the planet if we’re together. Just our luck, huh_?” She chuckled sadly.

“ _The thing is, I wouldn’t care. I would fight every demon in Hell bare-handed, as long as I got to have you here with me_.” Lucifer felt his heart jump. “ _We’re partners, and we’re supposed to work together to fix things. I don’t care if some stupid prophecy says otherwise.”_

The Detective was quiet for a minute, and Lucifer thought she was finished before he heard a small sob.

_“Sorry, I don’t mean to get all weepy or whatever.”_ She gathered herself for a moment before continuing. _“My point is, you know—better than anyone else, probably—that I know how to take care of myself. You don’t need to go and be a martyr in the name of ‘saving the world,’ Lucifer.”_

-

“Because you know what? I need you. And I need you here.”

Chloe sniffled and rubbed her eyes. She stared out at the beautiful night sky, her hands gripped on the balcony bar. “When I told you I loved you, I meant it. I still do.”

Chloe groaned audibly at the way her voice cracked and wiped her tears off of her face. She cleared her throat. “So please. Just, come back. Come back to Trix, to Ella, to Linda and your brother, and—come back to _me_.”

When she was met with a stubborn silence, she sighed. “I should’ve known this wasn’t going to work.”

“You still love me?”

Chloe didn’t want to turn around. Maybe this was just like in the car on the drive over; maybe she was imagining his voice again.

“Detective.” the voice confirmed, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

Chloe slowly turned around, and there he was. The man that she loved, the man that she had missed so dearly these last two months, was standing right in front of her. It wasn’t an illusion.

“Lucifer.” She whispered, taking a step towards him. “You’re really here. It- it worked.”

“I’m here.”

They stood there in silence. Chloe couldn’t take it anymore—she closed the distance between them and embraced him. She missed this, and she missed him. He froze for a second before putting his arms around her, and she heard him sigh. Maybe he missed her too.

He played with her hair as they stood, neither one deciding to move. Lucifer chuckled softly. “It’s a Friday, isn’t it?” he mumbled.

Chloe hummed in agreement. “Why?”

“No reason.”

-

Lucifer held the Detective in his arms for the first time in a thousand years, and it almost felt like he was back in Heaven—no, that’s wrong. He never felt more at home than he did in Los Angeles, after he met her.

This was home.

As they pulled away from each other, Lucifer cupped her face in his hand and swore to himself never to leave her again. No matter what they would face, demons and all, they’d face it together as partners.

As Lucifer slowly saw everyone that he had left behind and was forced to explain his disappearance (in extremely loose terms, as though not to lie), he would feel immediate comfort when the Detective slipped her hand into his and squeezed it, knowing that she would be there to help him.

As they returned to work and began to solve cases together again, Lucifer swore that he would do everything in his power to continuously prove his worth to her, even though she never asked him to. He swore he’d make up his time lost with her, because he never wanted her to feel that pain again.

And finally, Lucifer swore to enjoy and savor _every_ Friday that he got to experience with the Detective. Friday was a symbol of hope, a symbol of every milestone that they had reached together. Now, along with every other milestone on the list, one more was added: Friday was the day that Lucifer finally made it back to his Chloe.

**_THE END_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I am living for this AU where Michael doesn't exist. Before writing this, I always wondered why Chloe never tried praying to Lucifer after he left to Hell; or maybe just in general. ("Honey, I forgot, can you bring some milk from the store? Thanks.") Can you imagine? All the possibilities. Anyway, hope you liked it! :)


	5. Clover//Deckerstar One-Shot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A flower shop AU! There's no distinct spoilers. This is my longest one-shot to date, ranging at about 13k. Chloe owns a shop, Lucifer is going to own a shop, and Trixie might be a puppy. Enjoy!!
> 
> Note: When you see this (---) that means there's a brief pause in time. When you see this (-+-+-+-+) we're switching perspectives. I hope the transition in between POV's are clear enough to recognize.

Here's a history fact.

The white clover is a type of flower that was native to Europe. _Trifolium Repens_ , they called it. As the flowers spread throughout the world, the interest in the flower business boomed immediately. People would sell their homes, their livelihoods, _anything_ just to get some investment in the floral business. It got to the point that flowers were worth more than the finest gold. 

Lucifer never understood the concept. 

After all, as a celestial being, Lucifer never had any need for materialistic objects--but money and gold could get you places in the Earthly realm. 

Money could buy you the world. 

Clovers? Lucifer would pass.

\---

Years would pass. 

A millennium in Hell can get boring, even for the Devil. So one day, Lucifer and Maze made their escape from Hell and landed on a beach in Los Angeles. _The City of Angels_. The irony wasn’t lost on either of them. 

Lucifer bought a club soon after their arrival and named it Lux. For three years, Los Angeles had become their new normal. Maze tended to the bar, Lucifer would put on performances with the piano, and they each indulged in their every desire that the earthly realm could provide. 

That was until Amenadiel visited from the Silver City with a message from Father. 

It had been a normal day, and Lucifer had been enjoying the lavish life of Los Angeles as he had been doing for the last three years, when Amenadiel had frozen time. The rustle of his feathers filled the main room, and Lucifer groaned. The only beings that weren’t frozen were Lucifer, Amenadiel, and Maze, who had been standing at the bar.

“Your return to the underworld has been requested.” 

Lucifer chuckled dryly and put down his glass before grabbing his phone. “Oh right, okay, let me just check my calendar.” He quickly pressed a button on his phone, ignoring Amenadiel’s annoyed stare. “Yeah, here it is. Uh—the seventh of never to the fifteenth of never-going-to-happen, how does that work for you guys?” 

When Amenadiel had no reaction, Lucifer sighed. Why was his brother so dreadfully _boring_? “Look, remind _Dad_ that I quit Hell because I was sick and tired of playing a part in his play.” Lucifer’s tone dripped with bitterness, especially at the word ‘dad.’ 

Amenadiel sighed solemnly and crossed his arms. “Father had a feeling you would say that.” 

“Oh, did he now?” Lucifer grabbed his glass from the ground and took a sip, wishing that he wasn’t so sober at this precise moment. “I’m not surprised.” 

“Father wishes to make a deal.” 

Lucifer perked up immediately. “What deal, brother?”

“If you were to take the deal, you’d have to open a store. A flower store.” 

Lucifer began laughing. He looked around at the frozen guests as if to say, ‘are you hearing this?’ until he looked up and realized that Amenadiel hadn’t budged. In between chuckles, he managed out “Oh, you aren’t joking.” 

“Our father doesn’t joke, Brother.” 

“That’s utterly ridiculous!” Lucifer placed down his glass and stood up from where he had been sitting. “In case you didn’t realize in our eternity together thus far, I’m the Devil. Not a flower girl.” 

Amenadiel decided to ignore his comment, shaking his head. “If you took the deal, you’d have to run the store, Luci. You can’t just buy the building and let it rot.” So that loophole was already taken care of. _Clever move, Father._

Lucifer decided to play along for the moment. “And what would I get in return for this absurd request?” 

“Complete freedom.” 

Lucifer froze. Freedom was what he had sought since the early days, since residing in the Silver City, since he was thrown into Hell. He would do almost anything to have that true freedom that he so desired. Amenadiel continued. “Father would no longer hold any control over you. You’d be free to do whatever you choose, and Father could have no influence.”

Lucifer nodded slowly, reaching down to grab his glass from the floor. The details mattered in a deal, he knew this after years of making them, so he carefully ran down the terms. “So, you’re telling me that if I open this—this flower shop,” he said with disbelief. “and if I run it, I’d be finally free of our father. No strings attached?” 

Amenadiel nodded. “No strings attached.” He confirmed. “Do we have a deal?” 

Lucifer drank the last sip from the glass of whiskey he held in his hand. “The almighty is making a deal with the Devil.” He chuckled to himself, holding out his hand. “We have a deal, brother.”

-+-+-+-+-+-+

Chloe drummed her fingers against the top of the glass counter as she stared out the window. Today was another slow day in the shop, with only one customer making their way inside. Chloe didn’t mind, considering it gave her time to clean up the store, work on a few displays and whatnot, but she still needed the business to pick up sometime soon. If not, then something might happen to the store, and that couldn’t happen, because— 

Chloe’s line of thinking was interrupted by the buzzing of her phone. She chuckled when she realized she had three missed calls and four text messages from Ella. 

**Ella (6:54 p.m.)** : Chloe 

**Ella (6:54 p.m.)** : Chloe 

**Ella (6:55 p.m.)** : Chloe 

**Ella (6:55 p.m.)** : DECKER 

**Chloe (6:56 p.m.)** : Ella, you’re gonna kill my battery. What happened? 

**Ella (6:56 p.m.):** Girl have you not heard?? You’re getting competition!!! 

**Chloe (6:57 p.m.)** : Competition? 

**Ella (6:57 p.m.)** : YES! Across the street!! 

As if Ella had been some version of Walter Mercado—a psychic that Chloe’s mom used to leave on the TV when she’d go to work—Chloe looked up from her phone and realized that there was a line across the street leading into the building that had been empty for years. The words “ _The Devil’s Bouquet_ ” were written in bright pink neon lettering, and there was even a bouncer in front of the shop.

There were several floral arrangements lining the display window of the shop, making Chloe’s heart drop to her stomach. Another flower shop. Just what she needed.

Chloe looked back down at her phone and started typing frantically. 

**Chloe (6:59 p.m.)** : Are you telling me that this is another flower shop? In this EXACT area? 

**Ella (7:00 p.m.)** : YES! They’re tryna steal your thunder, Chlo 

Chloe turned off her phone and scowled at the sight. The line across the street was only increasing in customers, managing to stretch out across the block. Meanwhile, her store remained so empty, she was pretty sure she saw a tumbleweed pass by. 

Before her courage entirely drained from her system, she decided she would go over to the store and give the owner a piece of her mind—maybe she couldn’t convince them to pick up and leave, but she’d be damned if she didn’t at least try. 

This was her territory, after all, and she wasn’t willing to share. 

Chloe flipped over the sign on her door so that it read “Chloe’s Clovers: Currently Closed” and made her way across the street. She had to push past a few people, one who even snapped at her for getting in the way, but she finally got in and stood to the side, eyeing around for the owner. 

Finally, a man walked out from the back of the shop; he wore a suit, which was unusual for a florist, and was fixing the cuff on his sleeve when Chloe walked up to the counter he stood behind. She cleared her throat to get his attention when his head snapped towards her. “Hi, do you own this place?” 

“Indeed, I do. Lucifer Morningstar.” The man held out his hand for a handshake which Chloe took lightly, furrowing her eyebrows. 

“What is that, a stage name or something?” 

“God-given, I’m afraid. Now, what can I do for you, Ms...?” 

“Decker. I own the place across the street.” Chloe pointed her thumb towards the window. “I wanted to ask you why you felt the need to set up your shop right here when my store has been across the street for years. This area’s already claimed.”

“I can assure you that I was entirely unaware of your store’s existence, Ms. Decker.” Lucifer leaned forward on the counter, laying his forearms on the top of the glass. “However, I’m afraid the location wasn’t up to me.” 

Chloe raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “Oh, really?” She said sarcastically, making it sound more like a statement rather than a question. “Let me guess, God made you do that too.” 

Lucifer’s eyes gleamed, and his smile faded for a moment. “He didn’t make me do anything. We made a deal.” 

Chloe rolled her eyes and glanced at a fidgeting customer before meeting Lucifer’s eyes again. “Look, I barely get enough business as it is. You being here is only going to make things worse. So if you could undo whatever ‘deal’ you made, that’d be great.”

“Afraid it’s out of my hands, Ms. Decker. Feel free to speak to the big guy yourself!” Lucifer’s cheery grin darkened. “Not like he’ll answer, but you can try.” he muttered. 

Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. “Okay, clearly I’m not getting anywhere with you.” 

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. We could go plenty of places; I can certainly think of one.” Lucifer looked at her up and down and grinned, which prompted Chloe to scoff. _The audacity!_

“No, thanks. I’m good.” 

Lucifer seemed taken aback for a second until he shook his head and returned his smile. “Well then, what _do_ you desire, Ms. Decker?” His eyes seemed to pierce through her, but she stood her ground, raising an eyebrow. After a beat, Lucifer cleared his throat and straightened himself. “Right, my apologies. What do you _truly_ desire?” He leaned in slightly. It would’ve been comical if it wasn’t so strange. 

Chloe cleared her throat and glanced at the customers behind her before awkwardly looking back at Lucifer. “I’m confused, are you having a stroke or something?” 

A customer standing behind Chloe cleared her throat loudly and pushed past Chloe. “Some of us have been waiting here for hours.” The woman rudely declared, judgmentally scanning Chloe with her eyes. Chloe rolled her eyes and ignored the stares that she knew she was getting as she looked back at Lucifer. 

That’s when she realized that he’d been looking at her the whole time, his jaw almost to the floor. He seemed appalled, though at what, Chloe didn’t know. Instead of bothering to stand there and ask, she glared at him one last time before storming out, making sure to slam the door for dramatic effect. (It was a little lost, though, because there were so many customers in the way that it didn’t make much of a difference.) 

Chloe could almost feel Lucifer’s gaze as she walked across the street and into her own shop. Eventually, she ended up closing the blinds early, looking down at the floor instead of through the window. Once it was safe, Chloe made her way back to the seat behind the counter and exhaled, running her fingers through her hair. 

This ‘Lucifer’ was bad news. If he drew in nearly enough business regularly as he did today, there was no doubt that her shop was going to close down, and soon. She couldn’t lose this store. She couldn’t. 

Chloe exhaled shakily again as she forced herself to calm down. She’d figure it out somehow. She brought out her phone to text Ella about the entire encounter, hoping that her friend would make her feel a bit better. 

_What was she going to do?_

_-+-+-+-+-+_

Lucifer poured himself a drink. 

Then another. Then another. And then another. 

No matter how much whiskey he consumed, his bloody immortality stopped him from feeling anything but a slight buzz, and that’s not what he wanted. 

That human woman, Ms. Decker from across the street, she was somehow able to avoid the one question that he was able to get everyone else to answer: what do you desire? Instead, she asked him if he was having a stroke. Him! The _literal_ Devil! Lucifer scoffed at the thought. 

Taking another sip from his glass, Lucifer glanced out of the window to see the shop across the street. Through the window, even at this distance, he could see Ms. Decker tending to some of her plants that stood in the display window, trimming at them with a small scissor. With every snip, her hands moved gently, as if the plant would break if one movement were too sharp. 

It was fascinating, really. 

“I simply don’t understand, Mazikeen! How is it that this woman, this _human_ _woman_ , didn’t give in?” Maze groaned, but Lucifer ignored it. “I mean, is this thing on?” He gestured at himself grandly. 

“Why is this bothering you so much?” Maze raised an eyebrow, twirling a knife that she held in her hand as she sat in one of the chairs. 

Lucifer froze. “I’m not bothered, I-” 

“You’ve been going on and on about this for days.” 

“It’s interesting to me, that’s all. After all, this is the first time in millennia that someone is able to refuse my charms.” Lucifer grinned, putting his free hand in his pocket.

“Referring to them as charms, I think, is a bit of a stretch.” Maze got up and walked to the bar, pouring herself a drink.

Lucifer glared at Maze before taking a sip from his whiskey. Maze walked up to him and forced herself in his field of vision, blocking the window. “You’re the Devil, Lucifer. You’re the former ruler of Hell. Are you really stressing about one human?” 

Lucifer scoffed and looked back up through the window.

Maze was right. It was just a human. 

_So, why was she so interesting?_

_-+-+-+-+-+-+_

About two weeks had passed since Chloe went to confront Lucifer. She hadn’t seen him since then, but she couldn’t ignore the long lines that left the shop’s doors almost every night. 

Tonight was a rainy night, and if it hadn’t been for the backup generator that was installed in the back of the shop—thanks to her dad, of course—the power would’ve gone out hours ago. 

Chloe was slightly surprised when she looked out the window and saw that the shop across the street was empty, the long lines nonexistent and the loud music inaudible. She shrugged it off and walked to the counter, sitting down and getting ready to check in with Ella.

She heard a sudden knock at the door. Not only was it strange considering most customers just walked in, but it was also strange because it was around eight at night and the shop was meant to close within the next twenty minutes, a timespan which never brought any customers. Not to mention, it was raining literal cats and dogs outside. 

More than likely, this only meant one thing: 

_A robber._

Chloe had dealt with plenty of them in her time here—having a shop in a bad area like this came with certain dangers that she knew all too well—so she slowly grabbed at a small weapon that she had hidden underneath the counter, her fingers clasping the handle slowly as she jumped at another series of knocks. 

She walked around the counter and lifted her weapon. “I’m going to call the cops if you don’t leave, now!” Chloe tried to heighten her voice so that she sounded firm and serious, and cursed herself mentally when it wavered instead. 

She cleared her throat. When she was only met with another frantic knock, she took a step closer to the door. “I called them! They said that they’re coming right away, so I suggest you leave _now_ if you don’t want to be arrested!” 

“I highly doubt someone would wish to arrest _me_ , Ms. Decker!” A voice yelled from the other side. An annoying british voice that only took Chloe a moment to recognize. “Now, in case you haven’t noticed, it’s raining outside, so if you could bloody let me in, I’d greatly appreciate it!” 

Chloe rolled her eyes and groaned as she walked towards the door and swung it open. “Jesus, Morningstar.” 

“That’s an oxymoron if I’ve ever heard one.” Lucifer grumbled, stepping in. His suit was soaked, and his hair was curly and had water falling off the ends. He glanced down at the weapon that Chloe still had clutched in her hands and chuckled, fixing the cuffs on his suit. “If you were planning to use that on me, I’m afraid it wouldn’t make a dent. The Devil, remember?” 

Chloe scowled at him. “I have way too sharp of a weapon in my hand for you to still be talking.” 

“Tease.” 

Chloe rolled her eyes and grabbed a small towel that she had stored under the counter and shoved it towards him with a blunt ‘here.’ A moment of silence passed between them before Chloe cleared her throat and crossed her arms, shifting on her feet. “So, are you going to tell me why you’re here, or am I supposed to play charades with you?” 

Lucifer grinned at her, but Chloe put her finger up before he could say anything. “If you somehow turn that into a dirty joke, I will literally throw you outside back into the rain.” His grin dropped and he continued drying his sleeves with the towel that Chloe gave him. 

“Right, well, I just wanted to check out the competition.” 

Chloe scoffed. “Uh-huh.” Lucifer offered the towel back, when Chloe waved it off as if to say, ‘keep it, I don’t want your germs.’ She walked to the seat behind the counter where she had been sitting before the robbery-scare and continued to fiddle with one of the arrangements that a customer had ordered online. “You see any customers?” She asked dryly, gesturing towards the empty shop. 

“No, actually. Where are they all hidden?” Lucifer’s question seemed genuine, which made Chloe furrow her eyebrows until he let out a small ‘oh’ sound and put his hands in his pockets. 

“Any customers I had before you got here made their way across the street, so I’m lucky if I get one person a day.” She mumbled. Her intention wasn’t to vent—after all, this was the person that was unapologetically taking any business that she had before he got here, so why bother telling _him_ about her problems? 

Chloe glanced at her phone and looked at the time, realizing that there were five minutes until closing. When she looked at the window, she saw that the rain was still coming down. Lucifer seemed to notice this too, although he kept his gaze towards the floor. Chloe rolled her eyes and silently battled herself in her mind before her conscious won. “If you want, you can stay here until the rain stops.” 

Lucifer glanced up at Chloe and he had the same taken-aback look that he wore after he did that ‘desire’ thing. “I wouldn’t ask you of that, Ms. Decker. After all, you just said--” 

“It’s fine, Morningstar. Just don’t break anything.” Chloe glanced down at her phone, realizing that Ella was calling her. She put a finger up in Lucifer’s direction as if to say, ‘be quiet or I’ll throw you back out into the rain,’ and walked a few feet away behind the counter to get to her room. 

“Ella? What is it?” Chloe answered, putting a finger to her ear even though the store was silent. 

“ _Chlo, you haven’t given me any updates in days!_ ” Ella’s bright and cheery voice rang through the speaker, making Chloe smile softly. 

“About what?” 

“ _You know, the—hold on one second, can you shut up, Ricardo?! Sorry, my brother’s being annoying. He asked for this tattoo design days ago and I haven’t gotten the chance to finish it, and_ -” 

“Ells?” 

“ _Right, sorry._ ” Chloe chuckled at Ella’s constantly running train of thought. “ _You told me about the shady owner across the street, but you haven’t told me anything else!_ ” She rolled her eyes playfully. Ella definitely read way too much fanfiction for her own good. 

“Yeah, there hasn’t been much else to say. Well, until right now.” Chloe chewed on her bottom lip.

“ _Right now? What do you mean_?” 

Chloe glanced behind her to make sure that Lucifer wasn’t listening. “He may or may not be here right now.” 

Chloe had to move the phone from her ear to save her eardrums from the squeal that erupted from the phone. “ _HE’S THERE?_!” 

“Yes, and I’m pretty sure that Antarctica heard the news too.” Chloe silently prayed that Lucifer couldn’t hear Ella’s voice through the phone.

“ _Oh, my gosh. Is he hot_?” 

“Ella.” Chloe rolled her eyes and walked to the corner of the room, bending over to pet her puppy, Trixie, as she slept. She made a mental note to give Trix some treats later when Lucifer left the store. 

“ _I’m serious! I need to know these things!_ ” 

Chloe groaned and rubbed her eyes. “Yes, to _some_ people, he may be seen as hot. But Ella, this is the guy who’s taking all of my business. You know what this shop means to me.” 

Ella sighed. “ _I know, Chlo_.” 

“I mean, my dad, he--” Chloe caught herself. She didn’t want to go down this road, especially not right now. “Look, I have to go, but I promise I’ll tell you everything tomorrow, alright?” 

“ _You better!_ ” Chloe could almost see Ella’s bright smile, and it did make her feel a bit better. 

Chloe hung up the phone and sighed, slowly sliding backwards on the wall until she hit the floor of her room, hugging her knees. If you had told the nineteen-year-old version of Chloe where she would be right now, she would’ve laughed in thirty-eight-year old Chloe’s face—but she didn’t have too much time to think about that. 

Right now, she was just so tired, and Trixie was sleeping peacefully in her bed, and Chloe could feel herself dozing off. Every thought of the store, of the lack of business, and even of the man standing in the room a few feet away completely vanished as she fell to the world of sleep, letting her dreams take her. 

\---

_A gunshot._

_That was all she could hear._

_This shop, the store that had served as her home for years, her only safe space, had been broken into. Her safe space was gone now, and the only thing left was that sound._

_The robber gasped, as if they didn’t expect the bullet to come flying out of the gun that they held. They frantically looked around, not seeing the little girl that stood only a few feet away before rushing out the door, leaving behind the body that would forever change that little girl’s life._

_Chloe had become an observer now, experiencing what she could only assume was an out-of-body experience. The little girl ran out to the main floor, rushing to the body that laid lifeless on the ground. The girl cried out, shaking the body. Why wasn’t he moving? Why wasn’t he speaking?_

_Chloe, the observer, could only hear the girl scream. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t look away, she was only stuck._

_Then all she heard was the gunshot._

\---

Oh, God. 

Chloe woke up panicked, still sitting on the floor where she had passed out hours before. It was morning now, and Chloe had to open up the store. What time was it? 

Chloe forced herself to take deep, calm breaths as she pressed her palm to her cheek, grounding herself. It was just a dream, she told herself. _That happened years ago. You have work to do, Decker._

Chloe audibly groaned and recalled the last few hours in her reality. Then she remembered that Lucifer came over last night during the storm. 

_“If you want, you can stay here until the rain stops.”_

_“I wouldn’t ask you of that, Ms. Decker. After all, you just said--”_

_“It’s fine, Morningstar. Just don’t break anything.”_

Her first thought was, ‘did he destroy everything?’ The second thought-- ‘was he still there?’ 

Chloe got up from the floor and walked over to the main part of the shop, which looked surprisingly clean. “Morningstar? You around?” she called out, pressing her palm against the side of her head. She had one hell of a migraine. 

When there was no answer, Chloe shrugged the thought off. Maybe he left immediately after Chloe went to her room? Chloe then turned around and looked at the counter, shocked to see an entire breakfast laid out. Pancakes, sausages, waffles, bacon, and eggs were perfectly set on the counter, the steam still coming from the plate. Next to the food laid a note. 

_‘Ms. Decker,_

_Apologies for my intrusion yesterday. If you’re wondering if the food is poisoned, the answer is no. When you retired to your room last night, I took the liberty upon myself to clean up, and in doing so, I realized that the fridge was, well, less than filled. I mean, really, Ms. Decker, four slices of bread don’t count as a meal. Either way, I hope you enjoy the breakfast. I made it myself._

_Lucifer Morningstar_

_(You may have a surprise coming to the shop starting tomorrow. Don’t be alarmed and threaten to call the police, for I don’t think they would appreciate it much.)’_

The signature had a small devil face next to it, which made Chloe chuckle softly. She folded the note, putting it in her pocket and glancing at the food. At that second, her stomach rumbled, and she realized how hungry she really was. Reluctantly, and with a tiny smile on her face, she grabbed at a piece of bacon as she flipped the sign at the front door over. It was time to start another day. 

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

(rewind.)

Lucifer put his hands in his pockets awkwardly as Ms. Decker walked into her room, whispering quietly on the phone. “I’m not going to bloody break anything.” he mumbled, unappreciative of the fact that Ms. Decker thought of him as some grubby human who would touch one’s personal belongings without permission. 

Lucifer shook his head. As he looked around the shop, he realized how simplistic it appeared at first glance. The decorations were few and far in between, the only thing ornamenting the walls being a single photo frame. At closer glance, Lucifer realized it was a younger girl and an older man, but he couldn’t discern any other features in the photo before Lucifer’s questioning train of thought was interrupted at the sudden squealing that he could hear coming from the other room. It was faint, but Lucifer decided to listen in. 

“Yes, and I’m pretty sure Antarctica heard the news.” He heard Ms. Decker say, clearly flustered.

A second of silence. 

“Ella.” 

Lucifer chuckled to himself. It made him feel a bit better knowing that her condescending and parental tone was used with everyone, and not just him. 

“Yes, to _some_ people, he may be seen as hot. But Ella, this is the guy who’s taking all of my business. You know what this shop means to me.” 

That’s when Lucifer felt his face flush. The guy ‘taking all of her business,’ was that meant to be him? And if so, did she really think he was hot? 

“I mean, my dad, he-” Another pause. “Look, I have to go, but I promise I’ll tell you everything tomorrow, alright?”

After that sentence, there was only silence, so Lucifer figured that Ms. Decker hung up. Should he wait until she leaves the room to ask her some questions? Should he walk in? Would that be rude? 

Lucifer scoffed to himself. Since when did he care about being rude? He was the Devil, for crying out loud—one mere human shouldn’t have this effect on him; not when he didn’t even know her. Building up his confidence, Lucifer stepped around the corner and through to the room that Ms. Decker had walked into. 

When there was nobody there, Lucifer raised an eyebrow. Unless Ms. Decker was a reincarnation of Houdini, it was highly unlikely that she disappeared into thin air. Then he saw her—she was curled up on the floor, leaning against the wall. 

It seemed highly uncomfortable. 

Lucifer scoffed to himself. Her comfort didn’t _matter_ to him, why did he care if she looked uncomfortable? 

Okay, Lucifer couldn’t lie, even to himself. It _did_ matter to him slightly, because she seemed so exhausted. Her normally electric blue eyes were shut, and in this light, he could see the weariness in her face that hadn’t been evident the first time they met. Lucifer exhaled, looking around at the room around him. There was a single bed in the center and a small dog bed in the corner of the room. There was a dresser next to the main bed and a small fridge that sat in the other corner, but other than that, there was no other furniture to distinguish that this space was Ms. Decker’s. 

Lucifer put his hands in his pockets and glanced back at Ms. Decker, who had started snoring loudly. This one human was certainly a mystery to him, and he had many questions—but they could be answered at a later time. 

As for right now, well, Lucifer wasn’t sure what to do. 

He could leave and come back tomorrow, but Ms. Decker seemed particularly worried about someone coming in to rob the store. Maybe he should stay for tonight, just to ensure that the shop is safe. 

Only because Ms. Decker was incapacitated at the moment. 

Lucifer walked out to the main floor and took off his jacket, placing it neatly on a chair next to the counter. The store, although simplistic, had its own version of appeal. Lucifer gave Ms. Decker mental kudos for keeping the space clean, and eventually decided to bring his attention to a few flower arrangements that sat near the display window. 

Clovers were clearly Ms. Decker’s specialty, considering they were the main attraction, of sorts. They were beautiful—and if Lucifer were an introspective Devil, he’d admit that they were better arrangements than he could ever make. However, he wasn’t, so he didn’t. Instead, he found his feet wandering back to the photo frame on the wall. 

The young girl in the photo truly had some similarities to Ms. Decker—she had long, blond hair and the same electric blue eyes that Ms. Decker had. However, the girl in the photo had a large smile on her face, and Lucifer hadn’t seen her smile once. 

Next to the girl was a man, his eyes reflecting the same shade of blue. Ms. Decker had mentioned a father in her phone call earlier—was this meant to be him? The girl that he assumed to be a young Ms. Decker held a flowerpot in her arms with a small stem growing out of it. The man couldn’t have looked prouder, his smile even larger than that of the young girl. 

Lucifer decided not to delve too deep into thought about this photo. He would ask certain questions later, he swore to himself. But not now. 

Right now, he needed some whiskey. 

Finding his way back to Ms. Decker’s room, where she hadn’t moved an inch, he made his way to the small fridge and opened it cautiously. He almost felt his jaw drop when he saw the fridge completely empty, save for four slices of bread that were in the far-left corner and two water bottles. 

_Now, this won’t do._

Lucifer made a quick call to a reluctant Mazikeen and rolled up his sleeves, beginning to do some work around the store. Sweeping the floor here, wiping down a table there, watering a few arrangements—silently hoping he didn’t drown any of the flowers. Hours passed quickly, and before Lucifer realized, it was almost seven in the morning. 

After all, what are the perks of being the Devil if you can’t pull a simple all-nighter? 

With that, Lucifer placed his own bouquet—one of food, rather than flowers--on the counter table and wrote a quick note, signing his name with a small devil face. Lucifer grabbed his jacket from the chair that he had laid it on a couple hours before. He heard some shuffling coming from Ms. Decker’s room, so he quickly left the shop, briskly walking across the street to get back to his own. 

Sure, he had a small smile on his face as he watched through the window and felt some satisfaction at her shocked expression at the food—seeing as though it was quite literally any expression that didn’t scream hatred towards Lucifer. And yes, he did have more of an interest in the strange human woman across the street. 

But it’s not like it meant anything to him. 

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

It was the next day. 

Chloe hadn’t gone across the street to thank Lucifer for the food because she had been so distracted with Ella’s thousands upon thousands of questions. 

Ella lived in Los Angeles, in the same area as Chloe, but she was often so busy with her tattoo parlor that she ran with her brothers that it was rare for her to visit Chloe’s shop. So, naturally, when Ella decided to rush over to Chloe’s shop as quickly as possible after Chloe said one sentence regarding Lucifer’s visit, she had to answer every question that Ella threw at her. 

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Ella crossed her arms, but her smile was wide and as kind as always. 

“I mean, after I got off the phone with you, I just fell asleep in my room. Then I woke up and there it was.” 

“’It’, referring to the massive breakfast that this guy made you.” 

“Right.” 

Ella squealed again, and Chloe had to close her eyes for a second before Ella cleared her throat. “Okay, okay, tell me what the note said again?” 

Chloe grabbed the note that she had lying on the counter and passed it over to Ella, deciding to sit down on the chair next to the counter as Ella read. “Oh my gosh, Chlo! This is even _better_ than fanfiction!” 

Chloe rolled her eyes and ignored that comment, instead grabbing the note back and placing it loosely on the counter in front of her. “You do realize that he’s basically stealing my business just because he can, right?” Ella’s face softened, but Chloe shook her head. “As nice as the food might’ve been, it doesn’t change the fact that this might put me out of business. And I can’t--that can’t happen.” 

Ella put her hand on Chloe’s and smiled softly at her. “We’ll figure it out, okay? We’ll handcuff ourselves to this place if we have to,” Ella teased, which made Chloe chuckle. “But it’s not going out of business.” 

Chloe sighed. “Thanks, Ells.” 

Ella moved her hand and glanced outside. “I do wonder what he meant by ‘surprise,’ though. Didn’t all of this happen yesterday?” 

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, so whatever he was planning would’ve happened today, but it’s almost five p.m. and nothing’s-” 

At that exact second, the bell at the front door rang. “Excuse me,” a young woman called from the door. “Is this Chloe’s Clovers? I just want to make sure I got the right place.” 

Chloe and Ella exchanged a quick glance before Chloe smiled at the woman. “Yeah, you’re in the right place. I’m Chloe. Uhm, is there anything I can get for you?” 

\---

Within the next few hours, Chloe got more customers than the last few months combined. Ella stuck around to help with the arrangements (which Chloe appreciated), and Chloe had to work quickly to keep up with the customers. She didn’t have much time to consider why exactly the business had become so popular in such a short amount of time, but however it happened, she was beyond grateful. 

“Chlo!” Ella called out, getting Chloe’s attention from across the room. “Special order!” 

Chloe nodded quickly, smiling at the customer she had been working with at the moment and excusing herself to make her way across the room. “Hi, what can I get for you?” She asked the customer. The woman had long brown hair and leather-tight clothing, and Chloe felt mildly intimidated when the woman glared at Chloe up and down. 

“So, you’re the human.” The woman muttered, crossing her arms. 

“Pardon?” 

“Nothing. A white clover. _Please_.” It sounded like the woman was trying to fake being polite, but the dryness in her voice would’ve been amusing if Chloe wasn’t so distracted at the moment by the number of customers in the shop. 

Chloe nodded, making her way to the counter and grabbing one of the clover flowerpots that she had at the ready. The woman paid without another word and left immediately, but it took Chloe a moment to realize that a note was attached to the money. 

The customer had long since left the shop, so Chloe couldn’t call her back and let her know that she left it. Soon, her curiosity got the better of her and she unfolded the note. Her eyes widened when she realized that the note was addressed to her.

The note wasn’t signed, but Chloe already knew who it was from. She clutched the note in her hands for a moment longer before putting it in her pocket and continuing to make her way around the room, the words on the note echoing in her mind as she worked. 

_‘I hope you liked the surprise, Ms. Decker.’_

_-+-+-+-+-+-+-+_

Lucifer glanced out of the window, a satisfied smile on his face. It had been two weeks or so since he called in a few favors and brought some business to Ms. Decker’s shop. It wasn’t difficult to do—a person or two that owed him a favor that were able to spread information quickly got the job done--but it gave Lucifer a rush that he hadn’t felt in a long time. 

Ms. Decker had been extremely busy in the last two weeks, so it wasn’t rare to see her running around the shop, rearranging a design or frantically writing something on her clipboard, brushing a loose hair back behind her ear. 

Those moments were when Lucifer had to smack himself into reality. What was he _doing_ , watching this woman from across the street? Sure, she was interesting, but nothing to fawn over the way that he was. 

Lucifer heard the rustle of feathers come up behind him and he rolled his eyes. His brother could be so dramatic at times. “Hello, Amenadiel.” Lucifer called, turning around slowly. 

Amenadiel’s wings retracted, and he smiled softly. “Luci. I’m glad to see that you’re upholding to your side of the deal.” 

“Yes, well, it’s what I do. I don’t back out of a deal.” 

“And Father appreciates that.” 

Lucifer groaned audibly. “Amenadiel, if you only came over here to tell me about how pleased our Father is, you can save the speech. I’m here to stay in this wretched flower shop, and I’m not planning on leaving anytime soon.” He couldn’t help but glance at Ms. Decker from across the street, and mentally cursed himself when Amenadiel glanced in the same direction. 

“And I’m guessing that she has something to do with it?” Amenadiel raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know what you mean.” 

“Brother, I may not be familiar with human culture, but I know you. And I recognize the same look that you have now as the one you had with Eve.” 

“This is not anything like Eve, Brother.” Lucifer’s tone dripped with mockery, and he almost felt his eyes glimmer with a flame. He took a breath. “She’s not like Eve.” Ms. Decker was in the display window as he spoke, speaking to a customer and writing down what he could only assume to be an arrangement order. She didn’t smile, but her eyes seemed so focused, so determined, that he couldn’t help but smile a bit. 

Then he realized that his brother was still there. Time froze at that exact moment, and Lucifer rolled his eyes. “I was about to pour a bloody drink, Amenadiel. Do you always have to have the worst timing?” 

“Let’s take a walk.” Amenadiel persuaded, and Lucifer grabbed an empty glass in protest, putting his jacket on. 

“Fine.” 

\---

Amenadiel and Lucifer had walked across the street to Ms. Decker’s shop. 

“For this, brother, we could’ve stayed across the street where I could have access to some real alcohol. I’m afraid Ms. Decker here doesn’t indulge in the same recreational activities as I do.” Lucifer crossed his arms. 

“Chloe Decker. 38 years old, born and raised in Los Angeles.” 

Lucifer’s eyes widened slightly. “How did you know--?” 

Amenadiel ignored his question, circling Ms. Decker—who was still frozen, mind you—and glancing around at the arrangements. “Her mother was a former actress, and her father was a flower-shop owner. They couldn’t have been more different; but they fell in love.” Amenadiel grabbed a stray clover that sat on the counter as he spoke. Lucifer didn’t want to interrupt the story. He did want answers, after all, and if this was how he had to get them, he was willing to listen to his brother’s droning voice. 

“Eventually, they had a girl. The mother was gone most of the time, off looking for new roles to reprise her acting career. Her father stayed at the shop, teaching the girl everything there was to know about the flower business. The business was thriving, and life was good.” A beat. 

“She was nineteen when a robber came in, searching for money. The girl’s father fought for his business, the one he had worked so hard to keep open.” 

Lucifer gasped softly—he had a feeling he knew where this story was headed. He looked at Ms. Decker’s face, still frozen. The photo frame on the wall flashed in his mind. The young girl was Ms. Decker, and the older man was her father after all. 

“There was a struggle, and a bullet was shot. The girl saw everything, but she couldn’t do anything to stop it. He was already gone.” 

Lucifer put down his glass and cleared his throat. Everything clicked into place, then. The reason she wanted him to leave so badly, the way that Lucifer had never seen her smile, even from a distance, the reason why she seemed so tired. “Why are you telling me all of this, Brother?” Lucifer asked softly. 

“You needed to know.” 

That was an entirely too vague answer, but Amenadiel’s feathers rustled in his face and Lucifer realized he had been moved back across the street before he could respond. Amenadiel had disappeared, and Lucifer gasped as he realized time had gone back to normal. 

Looking out the window, Lucifer could see that Ms. Decker had resumed talking to that one customer, and he chuckled slightly as he walked to the bar and poured himself a real drink.

He didn’t care for his father; not at all, actually. But more than likely, Ms. Decker did. 

Maybe that had something to do with it. 

\---

Minutes, hours, maybe a day passed, but Lucifer couldn’t tell the difference. He had been zoned out—not on any narcotics, unfortunately, just in thought. He had to talk to her again, even if just to ask her why. 

_Knock, knock._

Why did she work so hard to keep the store open, even after the tragedy she went through? 

_Knock, knock._

Lucifer’s head snapped up. He got up from his chair, straightening out his vest, and opened the door only to have his heart thump in his ears when he realized it was Ms. Decker on the other side. “Ms. Decker! What a surprise.” Lucifer tried his best to keep his voice steady and confident. 

“Hi.” She sounded a tad bit awkward, but Lucifer couldn’t blame her. He was blocking the door and staring at her, which he later realized may have looked strange. 

“Er, would you like to come in?” He finally moved his body to the side and gestured for her to come in, and she walked past him into the shop. He glanced around the outside and closed the door, taking a sip of whiskey before turning around and facing her. 

“I wanted to say thank you. I don’t know what you did, or how you did it, but my business is popular again, and I’m getting all of these customers and-” Ms. Decker took a breath as she fidgeted with her hands. “Anyway, just—thank you.” 

Lucifer exhaled shakily. “You’re welcome, Ms. Decker.” 

A beat passed where the two stared at each other, neither one moving from their spot before Lucifer cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, I suppose this counts as a moment for celebration?” He asked hopefully, walking to the bar. 

Ms. Decker chuckled briefly, which made Lucifer freeze for only a second. He had never heard her laugh before, so it was strange. “Sure, Morningstar. I’ll take a drink.” 

“Pick your poison. Whiskey, tequila, I have a certain wine from the 1930s’, truly a beautiful tasting--” he rambled, faking casualness in his voice, before Ms. Decker took a seat next to him. 

“I’ll take some whiskey.” 

Lucifer smirked. “Fine choice, Ms. Decker.” 

\---

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, before Ms. Decker nudged his shoulder. “Hey, is that one of my clovers?” On the bar, there was a small pot that held the clover that Lucifer asked Mazikeen to buy for him. He didn’t think to hide it before she got here, but he didn’t want to seem like a creepy stalker, either. Even still, he couldn’t lie. 

“I believe it is.” He tried his best to hide the mild flush in his face, but she must have noticed. 

“I appreciate it, Morningstar. I mean, I know you have your own store to keep up with here.” 

Lucifer hummed in acknowledgement before taking another sip from his glass. He really, really wished that the alcohol would provide him with more than a slight buzz at this moment. 

“Do you know why I chose clovers as my specialty flower?” 

Lucifer shook his head slightly, turning his body towards her. 

“See, regular clovers are stereotypically those four-leaf clover cartoons. The one that bring you good luck, the one that you find in a field of grass. Know what I mean?” She furrowed her eyebrows, prompting Lucifer to nod. 

“The clovers that I sell, white clovers—they're pretty much the most important flower in terms of foraging. They help with keeping livestock alive, they release gases into the air that help the environment. They’re pretty much a magical flower.” 

Ms. Decker sighed, playing with the rim of her glass. “But they’re also beautiful. They bring a smile to my customer’s faces, and there’s nothing like seeing someone find _their_ perfect flower. The one, if you want to be dramatic like that.” Lucifer chuckled, which made her laugh a little bit. “I’m sorry, that sounds ridiculous.” 

“It sounds nothing of the sort, Ms. Decker. You care about your craft, and you care about your business. You’re strong. And that’s--that’s an admirable trait.” 

Finally, _finally,_ Lucifer saw Ms. Decker smile. It made his stomach do a flip, which he shrugged off as the whiskey getting to him. “Thanks, Morningstar.” She nudged his shoulder again. “You aren’t so bad yourself.” 

“Why, I’d say I’m the best.” 

Ms. Decker rolled her eyes playfully. “And now I regret saying that.” 

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

A few months passed. Chloe would visit Lucifer across the street when she had some time, and Lucifer would visit her shop after hours. She learned how to become accustomed to the sound of knocking on the door, but she still couldn’t help the jump that her heart did whenever she heard one. 

Lucifer would bring dinner sometimes, because he knew that she didn’t always remember to eat. Whenever he did that, she would roll her eyes and tell him that she didn’t need him to be her babysitter, but she appreciated the gesture anyway—not to mention, the food was always unfairly delicious. 

Trixie had taken a liking to Lucifer. She’d attack his legs, always becoming extremely hyper whenever she recognized Lucifer’s suit. Lucifer would jump back, which made Chloe chuckle, but he had lately become more accustomed to Trixie’s energetic self. Once, he even gave her a treat when he thought Chloe wasn’t looking. 

She became friends with a woman named Mazikeen over the next few months. Maze could be terrifying, sure, but she would kill someone if they messed with Chloe—she knows this to be true because she almost did kill someone for refusing to pay taxes on one of her arrangements. 

Ella, of course, would go off on tangents about how she shipped Chloe and Lucifer, but Chloe would shut those conversations down immediately. Luckily, Lucifer was never around for those rants. 

After all, it wasn’t like she was interested in him. 

They were friends, that’s all. 

_Knock, knock._

Chloe’s heart jumped in a moment of fear, but she took a breath. It was just Lucifer. Hell, he probably brought dinner tonight, considering it was a Wednesday—he knew that Wednesdays were a particularly busy day at the shop. 

“I’m going, Morningstar.” Chloe called, walking to the door. “You better not have spent more money on that--” Chloe said, opening the door before her eyes widened with shock. 

It wasn’t Lucifer with two bags of food and that smirk on his face. 

It was a man with a black hoodie and a gun. 

A robber. 

Before she knew it, the gun was shoved in her face. “Give me all your money!” She barely heard, her vision fogging in and out. Chloe put her hands in the air, drawing in a breath. She had always been prepared for a robber before, but she let her guard down and now she was defenseless. 

“Did you hear me?! I said, give me all the money in the register, now!” 

This wasn’t supposed to be her. _She wasn’t a damsel in distress._

“Okay! Okay, I’m going to the register.” She said in a firm but shaky voice. 

“ _NOW!”_

“Okay! I’m going.” Chloe took a step backwards, making sure she kept her footing steady. There was a knife underneath the counter, at least she hoped, and another in her bedroom that was a gift from Maze. 

_“If one of those bastards ever gets to you, you take this, and you shove it-” Maze handed Chloe the knife, which Chloe had to cautiously grab in fear that Maze would accidentally stab her._

_“Maze, Maze, I think I get it.” She had said, chuckling. She put the knife on the counter, and Maze crossed her arms._

_“Okay, but seriously. If anything were to happen-” Maze put a finger up, and Chloe smiled._

_“I’m okay, Maze. Believe me, I’ve had my fair share of experiences, I’ll be fine.”_

Chloe felt her lips turn up slightly at the memory, but she had to be in the present. One in the counter, possibly, and one in the bedroom. Clearly, the better option was to get to the counter, where the register was. But this guy was watching her every move like a hawk. 

She couldn’t trip. She couldn’t fall backwards, because that would make the clearly nervous robber think she was making a false move, and he would shoot. She couldn’t rush at him, either, because it would result in the same ending. 

“Move faster!” The robber yelled out, pointing the gun further towards her. 

She stepped back. About ten more steps. Then what? 

Grab the knife. Grab the knife, and this’ll all be fine. 5 more steps. The robber was clearly getting impatient, but she had to buy herself time. 

_Lucifer._

He had called her a few hours before and let her know that he was stopping by tonight. She had to dodge thousands of innuendos in that conversation alone, but it made her worry. If he saw what was happening here, what would he do? 

Knowing Lucifer, he’d probably storm in and draw all of the robber’s attention to himself. _God, please let him be running late_ , she thought. Even though he claimed to be the Devil, to be immortal, he wasn’t. He was all too human. He couldn’t get shot, he couldn’t _die_. He had become one of her best friends, and she couldn’t lose him too. 

With that, she prayed in her head to any god that would listen as she took more steps. 

5\. 

She prayed for herself. 

4\. 

She prayed for the store. 

3\. 

She prayed that the knife was still behind the counter. 

2\. 

She prayed that Lucifer wasn’t on his way.

1\. 

Chloe was now behind the counter and opening the register, feeling underneath it for the knife. 

_Where is it, where is it, where is it_ , she questioned frantically in her mind, feeling her heart thump in her ears. It felt like every second was an hour long, and each beat of her heart felt like its own mini earthquake. She felt her stomach drop as realization kicked in. 

The knife wasn’t there. 

“TIME’S UP!” The robber yelled, fidgeting with the gun. Chloe’s eyes widened. Was this it? Was this all for nothing? This is how it was meant to happen? 

_This is how she was going to die?_

“You’re correct about one thing, Mr. Bandit.” A cool, calm voice rang out through the store. A voice that Chloe, admittedly, really wanted to hear at this moment. 

“Your time _is_ up.” 

Chloe realized that Lucifer was standing behind the robber, his hands in his pockets. He had his normal smirk, but his eyes gleamed with something far more dangerous. The robber turned around slowly, gun still in his hand, when Lucifer grabbed it from the robber and smacked him in the head with it. 

Clearly, the strike was hard enough to bring the robber down, but Lucifer grabbed him from the throat and lifted him into the air, high enough that it seemed inhumane for him to be able to do so. Chloe shook herself out of her trance and walked towards Lucifer. “Lucifer, let him go.” 

“The little parasite deserves to rot in the depths of Hell, Ms. Decker. I’m simply giving him a one-way ticket.” Lucifer snarled. 

“ _Please._ ” Her voice must have gotten to him somehow, because his gaze drifted over to her face, the fury in his eyes dying down to an expression of concern. “Just let him go. I’ll call the cops, and it’ll be fine.” 

After a moment of consideration, Lucifer dropped him from the air and let the robber fall to the ground, the robber groaning with sounds of pain as he hit the floor. Lucifer immediately walked over to Chloe, stepping over the body of the robber, and cupped her face in his hands. “Are you alright, Ms. Decker?” He glanced at her up and down as if she was injured. 

Chloe nodded. “I’m okay.” 

She smiled softly at him, and he returned the smile. Chloe cleared her throat and took a step back, clearly realizing the awkwardness of the situation. “I should probably--” she trailed off, gesturing towards the body that laid on the floor, still writhing in pain. 

“Right, yes. The justice system, and all.” Lucifer glanced around awkwardly, stepping back. 

Chloe bit her lip nervously and walked to the counter and grabbed her phone, dialing the police. “Hello, I’d like to report a robbery?” 

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Lucifer sighed and rubbed his eyes as he drank his whiskey. Yesterday was an eventful day, if he had ever lived through one. Ms. Decker had almost gotten shot, and if he hadn’t been there-- 

Lucifer refused to let his thoughts travel in that direction. 

They had gotten close over the last few months. Enough so that he was allowed in her room whenever he pleased, and she was allowed in his. There were no naughty shenanigans, as much as Lucifer whined, but it truly was nice—she trusted him, and in turn, he trusted her. 

She was still intriguing to him. Why he felt such an interest towards her, he still didn’t know. 

Even so, when he saw that scum pointing a gun at Ms. Decker, he felt a rage that he hadn’t felt since he was thrown from the Silver City. Her life was in danger, and a world where he couldn’t sit in comfortable silence at the bar with Ms. Decker, or to enjoy one of their many dinners (because Dad knows how Ms. Decker always forgot to eat), or a world where he couldn’t see her through the window as she delved into her own world of organized chaos --well, he didn’t like the idea of that world. 

_Knock, knock._

Lucifer stood up immediately. He recognized the knock of Ms. Decker right away, and he straightened out his vest before opening the door, making sure that he looked decent. “Good evening, Ms. Decker.” 

“Hey, Lucifer.” 

She seemed tired, like she hadn’t slept the night before. He couldn’t blame her. Near-death experiences weren’t easy, even for the best of celestial beings. She walked past him without invitation, but he didn’t mind. She took a seat at the bar as he closed the door behind her and started to pour her own glass of whiskey. 

Playfully, he stole her glass and took a sip from her glass, but she simply rolled her eyes and poured herself another glass, mumbling something about how she didn’t want that one anyway. A beat of comfortable silence passed. Ms. Decker was the first to speak.

“So, I almost died yesterday.” 

Lucifer almost choked on his drink for a moment. “Indeed, I suppose you did.” 

Ms. Decker exhaled shakily, playing with the rim of her glass. It almost felt like déjà vu from the first time they sat like this a few months ago, but Lucifer didn’t mention it. “I never told you about my dad.” 

“Your father passed, no?” 

Ms. Decker nodded. “He did. But it was the way he died that I never told you about.” 

Lucifer decided against saying that he already knew the way in which her father died, so he opted for nodding and taking a sip from his glass again. After all, if she felt comfortable enough with him to talk to him about this, then that meant something. 

“I was about nineteen when it happened. I think I told you that. But it was a robber that killed him.” Ms. Decker took a breath, appearing to address the glass instead of Lucifer.

“I wasn’t on the main floor, I was inside my room, doing some homework for this class I was in.” Ms. Decker chuckled to herself briefly. “It’s funny, because I remember thinking about how stressed I was with this one test coming up, and how upset I was that the teacher didn’t postpone it. _That_ was the biggest thing in my life, then.” Ms. Decker downed the entire glass of whiskey and poured some more into the now-empty glass. 

Maybe he wasn’t the only one who wanted to feel something more than a slight buzz with alcohol. 

“And then a robber came in. I remember hearing some screaming. It was mostly my dad trying to get the guy to leave. I got off my bed and walked over to the main room, but neither of them saw me. Then all I heard was a gunshot.” Ms. Decker’s voice cracked briefly, but she cleared her throat and met Lucifer’s eyes. 

“After that, the robber left, and I ran over to him. My dad was already gone, but I still tried getting him to talk, to tell me that he was okay, to tell me anything. And there was nothing.” Ms. Decker’s voice was completely dry, but her eyes were shining with water, as if she was trying to fight back tears. 

“My point is, I could’ve died yesterday, just like my dad. But I didn’t. And that’s because you showed up, and you didn’t have to help me, but you did. So, thank you.” Ms. Decker smiled softly. 

Lucifer was bad at comforting people. Even in the Silver City, he had never been great with his siblings and feelings and all of those emotions. That’s why when he found himself embracing Ms. Decker, and when he felt her freeze slightly before putting her arms around him in response, he didn’t know what had happened. 

Even at this slightly uncomfortable angle, Lucifer didn’t mind it, because he felt Ms. Decker clutch her arms a little tighter around him--and he realized at that moment that he would do anything possible to take this pain away from her. 

That’s when it clicked. 

It was Ms. Decker’s strength that intrigued him so much. He sensed it the first time he met her so long ago, that one day that she stomped over to his store and demanded to know why he chose that spot for his store. That’s what drew him to her from the start. The two pulled away from the hug and Ms. Decker wiped a tear from her eye with a chuckle. “I think I’m drunk.” 

“Ms. Decker, you couldn’t be drunk if you wanted to be. You’re far too responsible for that.” Lucifer winked at her, and she laughed softly. Their eyes met again, and Lucifer felt his face flush. 

He swore to Dad, that happened far too often around Ms. Decker. 

Suddenly, Ms. Decker yawned, and it snapped Lucifer out of his daze. “You should get some rest, Ms. Decker.” Lucifer furrowed his eyebrows. 

“I will, I’m just--” Ms. Decker exhaled. “I left Trixie with Ella for the night and I don’t really want to go over there alone just yet.” 

“You can stay here, if you’d like?” Lucifer suggested. Of course, he wouldn’t be surprised if she took that in the wrong context—considering how he always said things inappropriately—but Ms. Decker just shrugged. 

“I don’t want to take up your space or anything.” 

“I don’t mind.” Lucifer smirked in response.

Ms. Decker got up and found her way to his room, flopping on the bed after she took off her shoes. Lucifer was stepping out when she cleared her throat. “Hey, where are you going?” 

“The couch, Ms. Decker.” Ms. Decker patted the spot next to her, as if she were inviting him into his own bed. His heart jumped for a moment as he raised an eyebrow. “I don’t wish to intrude.” 

She glared at him. “Lucifer, this is your bed. I don’t mind if you lay down here too.” Ms. Decker put a finger up in the air. “No sex jokes, or I _will_ kick you out.” she said, although her lips were turned up in the corners. 

“The thought may have crossed my mind, but you have my word; I won’t make any inappropriate remarks tonight.” Lucifer smiled softly and made his way to the other side. Awkwardly, he laid on the other side, facing the ceiling, trying to take up as little space as possible. When Ms. Decker rolled over and hugged his arm like it was a stuffed animal, he couldn’t help the flip in his stomach. 

“Good night, Lucifer.” Ms. Decker muttered softly, her eyes fluttering closed. 

Lucifer put his other arm behind his head, knowing that there was no way he was going to move his other arm for anything in the world—even if his father himself walked into the room--so that he wouldn’t wake up Ms. Decker as she slept. 

“Good night,” He whispered, and he turned his head slightly and kissed Ms. Decker’s forehead, his lips lingering there a little longer than they should’ve. “Chloe.” 

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

“I’m just saying, I think you guys would make a great couple.” 

“Ella, please.” 

“I’m not kidding!” 

Chloe was focusing her attention on an arrangement that she was working on as Ella giggled on the other side of the counter. It was before the shop was supposed to open, and Ella had closed the tattoo shop for today, so she was hanging around Chloe’s store. Chloe, meanwhile, was trying to ignore the flush in her cheeks when Ella mentioned Lucifer. 

Okay, so she might have had a _tiny_ crush on the man across the street. 

“Ella, I don’t tell you things so that you can use it against me.” Chloe smirked, and fiddled with the arrangement in front of her. 

Ella mocked fake-offense and put her hand to her chest, slightly leaning back. “I’m not using it against you, Chlo. Was I not the first one to say you two would be adorable together?” 

Chloe nodded, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, over and over and over again. Did I mention over again?”

Ella laughed. “All I’m saying is that I’m willing to play wingwoman if you want me to.” 

Chloe glanced out the window, looking across the street. She couldn’t see too well from this distance, but she could almost make out Lucifer on the other side, who was busy dealing with his own arrangements near the display window. She shook her head. What was she _doing_ , fawning over this guy? “Ella, I’m pretty sure he has women throwing themselves at him all the time.” 

Ella turned around and looked through the window before turning back around and rolling her eyes. “Come on, Decker, you’re so not the ‘so shy that she doesn’t go for what she wants’ girl.” 

“No, but I’m not the ‘let me throw myself into a situation where I’ll most likely get rejected’ girl either.” 

“Oh, come on.” Ella drew out the ‘n’ syllable as she drummed her fingers on the counter. “You can’t crush my Deckerstar dreams before they’ve even started.” 

Chloe blinked. “I’m sorry, your what?” 

“Look, just ask him out. You’re overthinking it. Just go over there and ask him on a date.” 

Chloe groaned and put her head in her hands as Maze walked out from Chloe’s room, twirling her knives casually. “Ellen is right. You should just ask him out.” Her voice rang through the room, making Chloe jump. 

Ella’s smile wavered for a moment, but she quickly recovered, glancing back at Chloe. “ _Ell-a_ is definitely right. It’s obvious he likes you.” 

Chloe rolled her eyes and turned around to face Maze, who was leaning against the doorframe of her room. “And how exactly did you get in here, Maze?” Maze responded with a grin, and Chloe put her hand up before she could say anything. “Actually, I don’t want to know.” 

Maze walked over to the other side of the counter, sitting alongside Ella while twirling a knife on one hand. Chloe had to hold back a laugh as Ella scooted the smallest bit away from Maze, clearly worried about the knives flying in Maze’s hands. “Decker, I followed Lucifer out the gates of Hell. I’ve never seen him like this in eons.” 

Chloe decided to ignore the metaphors. “Why do you even care, Maze?” 

Maze shrugged. “My therapist says that contributing to friendships and creating bonds that don’t have to deal with torture are good coping-mechanisms for dealing with the fact that I’m not going home.” 

Chloe raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ella, who returned the same ‘I-have-no-idea' look that Chloe wore. Chloe shook her head. “Guys, even if I somehow got the courage to ask him out, there’s still the 99% chance that he’ll shoot me down. It’s like--” Chloe gestured with her hands, trying to find the best words. 

“It’s like Schrödinger's cat.” Chloe eventually settled on. When the two girls in front of her raised their eyebrows, Chloe sighed. “You know, the experiment with the cat? You put it in a cardboard box, and you don’t know if it’s alive or dead until you open the box?” 

“It sounds like a form of torture.” Maze widened her eyes and grinned, and Chloe scoffed. 

“No, it’s not torture, Maze. My point is, I’d rather just—I'd rather stick with the friendship and live knowing that maybe it could work, instead of being rejected altogether.” 

“You don’t want to open the box.” Ella concluded, her smile gradually fading. Chloe nodded in response. 

A beat of silence passed until Maze stood up from the seat, narrowing her eyes at Chloe. “That’s stupid, Decker.” 

Chloe’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?” 

“You heard me. What’s the point of sitting here and wallowing when you could easily take like ten steps and solve the issue?” Maze crossed her arms, and Chloe would find her intimidating if she didn’t know her well enough. 

Even still, Chloe could only gape. Maze had a point, and the logical side of Chloe agreed with her—still, the emotional side of Chloe had a handle on her brain, and it had a white-knuckled death-grip. “Maze--” 

“No, Maze is right.” Ella piped up, her smile growing again. “You need to stop thinking about it and just go for it.” 

“And if he says anything other than yes, I’ll stab him.” Maze grinned, and Chloe could only guess that what Maze had said was the closest to a joke that she’d heard from her. 

Letting out a breath, Chloe ran her fingers through her hair. Before her logic and her emotions could catch up and get to the same page, Chloe nodded sharply. “You guys are right. I’m going to do it.” 

Her friends’ reactions were fuzzy and faded out as Chloe fiddled with the arrangement in front of her. 

_She was going to open the damn box._

_-+-+-+-+-+-+-+_

Lucifer paced the floors of his shop. 

The Devil wasn’t a pacer. He didn’t spend his time like a high-school teenager, imagining every possible scenario and planning out every word in a conversation. Women and men alike threw themselves at Lucifer at every turn in normal circumstances—and yet, now he found himself delved deep into the role of giddy-high-school-student, his heart beating quickly at even the thought of the woman across the street. 

The Devil wasn’t a pacer. 

Here he was, pacing. 

_Amenadiel had made another visit last night, which Lucifer assumed was their Father’s way of making sure he stayed put. “Good evening, Luci.”_

_“Amenadiel. I’d say it’s a pleasure, but I have a very particular honor code that requires me not to lie.” Lucifer called, gazing out the window, as his brother chuckled in response. He walked to the window so that Lucifer and Amenadiel were standing side-by-side. Lucifer rolled his eyes. “Tell me, brother. What is it that our Father wants this time?”_

_“Father didn’t send me. I wanted to check up on you, Luci. Is that so hard to believe?” Amenadiel raised an eyebrow, but Lucifer kept his eyes on the street, refusing to look at his brother. Amenadiel sighed. “I see you haven’t made a move for the human yet. It’s unlike you.”_

_Lucifer gritted his teeth. “And you care, why?”_

_“All I’m saying is that I expected you to go after her by now. It’s clear that you have feelings for this human.” Amenadiel gestured out the window, towards the shop across the street._

_Lucifer had to bite his bottom lip in order not to say everything that was burning in his mind. ‘What the hell do you know about my feelings?’ ‘You have no right to talk to me that way.’ ‘Actually, I haven’t made a move because I’m terrified that she won’t feel the same way.’_

_Instead of saying the things blaring in his head like an alarm, he stuck to staring into his glass in silence, hoping that the whiskey in the glass would somehow magically make his brother disappear back to wherever he came from. Unfortunately, the whiskey only stared back._

_“Lucifer, are you—you’re worried.” Amenadiel said in a statement, rather than a question. Lucifer let out a ‘tsk’ sound and drank from the glass._

_“I am not worried, Amenadiel.”_

_Amenadiel ignored him entirely. “Brother, this human must have gotten to you. I was wrong before; you didn’t act like this with Eve. This is new.”_

_“You forget your place, brother. I’m the Devil. I don’t get crushes.”_

_“No, this isn’t a mere ‘crush.’ You’ve fallen.”_

_Lucifer winced. The last time he fell was, well, not the best bloody experience. Literally, there was blood involved. Still, Lucifer was smart enough to know that The Fall wasn’t what Amenadiel was referring to. But Amenadiel was wrong. He hadn’t fallen, exactly. Sure, he had an interest in Ms. Decker. Yes, his heart had a tendency to beat quicker at the sight of Ms. Decker’s smile, and his stomach would feel a terrible case of the butterflies when Ms. Decker would allow him into her home and they’d sit together, even if it was just in silence. Yes, he felt rage that he hadn’t felt in eons when he saw that Ms. Decker was in danger. Yes, he even felt the smallest tremor of fear when the possibility of a life without Ms. Decker crossed his mind._

_Even with all of that, he hadn’t fallen._

_No, no. He wouldn’t admit anything of the sort._

_A little while later, Amenadiel had disappeared with a flutter of his wings, leaving Lucifer alone with only his thoughts and his almost-empty drink._

Now, Lucifer forced himself back into the present, still pacing the floor. 

He had to pull himself together—this was silly, really. All he had to do was cross the street and talk to Ms. Decker as he had always done for months, now. There was nothing to be frightened of, or worried about, or stressed over. Lucifer grabbed his jacket from a chair and decided to bring two bottles of his finest wine, even if only to have a valid excuse. ‘ _I simply wanted a drink, Ms. Decker.’_ It doesn’t count as a lie, right? 

With every step he took towards the shop, he felt a sense of reassurance. 

There was nothing between them. They were friends, that was all. This was going to be a drink between friends. Nothing new. 

Lucifer grinned, and almost forgot about what caused him to be worried in the first place as he raised his fist to knock on the door when Ms. Decker suddenly opened it. Her eyes widened at the sight of Lucifer standing directly in front of the door, which would’ve been amusing if Lucifer didn’t suddenly feel a pang of nervousness hit him like a nuclear bomb. 

Ms. Decker’s golden hair shined from the light of the shop behind her, but it seemed to shine all on its own, like one of the brightest stars he had ever seen. Her eyes, a striking blue, transformed from shock to concern. Her lips, turned up at the corners like it was a pleasant surprise to see him. Any sense of confidence and ‘I’m-totally-not-worried' drained out of Lucifer’s system. She looked entirely the same—and yet, so different from when he had seen her last. 

Oh, bloody hell. 

_He had fallen after all._

_-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+_

“Lucifer?” 

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows. She had been mustering up the courage to walk across the street and ask Lucifer out on a date. She’d be lying if she said she wouldn’t kill for some real alcohol to give her some liquid courage. _Just do it, Decker. It’s not that hard. If he says no, he says no. You’ll still be friends after that, and that’d be fine. Even if it sucks immensely, having to be next to him after a rejection, you can do it. You have to._

Chloe’s inner monologue played in her head as she finally stood up from the counter and made her way to the door. _You can do it, just walk across the street, look him in the eye, and say-_

“What are you doing here?” 

Lucifer remained silent and gazed at her, almost bewildered. Chloe raised an eyebrow and snapped a finger in his face. “Earth to Lucifer?” 

Lucifer seemed to reanimate, making Chloe chuckle. “My apologies, Ms. Decker. Were you on your way out?” 

Chloe blinked. Right. “I was, actually.” Lucifer’s grin faded for a moment, although Chloe wouldn’t have noticed it if she didn’t know him well enough. “To see you.” Lucifer’s eyes glimmered in the dark, making Chloe’s face flush. She cleared her throat. “Your turn. What are you doing here?” 

He held up two bottles of wine from behind his back with a smirk. 

“Unfortunately, you don’t seem to have anything with a higher alcohol content than water, so I decided to bring my own.” Chloe rolled her eyes but moved to the side anyway so that Lucifer could walk inside as she closed the door behind him. 

\---

About an hour had passed, and the wine had done nothing to abate Chloe’s anxiousness. They chatted mindlessly, Lucifer would flirt, Chloe would roll her eyes at the attempt, and it was as if nothing was wrong—except Chloe had a huge piano hanging over her head and it was hanging by the smallest thread. 

“Ms. Decker?” 

Chloe snapped back into reality. Lucifer’s eyebrows were furrowed in concern, which Chloe found absurdly adorable. “Sorry, I was just thinking.” Chloe took a sip from her wine to hide the blush in her face. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” 

Chloe sighed, glancing between Lucifer, the drink, then back to Lucifer. That box was mocking her now, threatening to be opened. “It’s nothing, really.” 

“It doesn’t seem like nothing. You can tell me anything, you do know that?” 

Chloe nodded slowly, and before her emotions and logic could catch up, she blurted “What about a date?” 

Oh no. 

Maybe the alcohol _had_ gotten to her. 

Lucifer blinked slowly as if he was processing what she just said. He didn’t make a joke or grin or make any lewd gestures—he only stared, and Chloe would’ve liked nothing more than to have the floor swallow her into the ground. Cheeks burning, Chloe took another sip from her wine before turning her body towards Lucifer. “That was dumb. I’m sorry, forget that I said that. Ella and Maze got in my head and they convinced me that this would be a good idea, and-” 

“I’d love nothing more than to go on a date with you, Ms. Decker.” 

Chloe froze. _Seriously?_ “Sorry, what?” Her eyes narrowed, searching his expression for any sign of mockery or a sign that he was joking. 

“I said, of course I’d love a date.” 

Chloe’s eyes widened. Out of all things that he could have said, ‘yes’ was the absolute last one on the list--directly below ‘I can’t, I have to walk my demon.’ Chloe chuckled, which she guessed was the alcohol definitely getting to her brain. “Okay.” 

“Okay.” He grinned, and Chloe couldn’t help but return it. 

That’s when her skull started banging, and Chloe winced as she held her palm to her head. The joys of drinking included massive headaches. “Are you alright?” Lucifer’s eyebrows furrowed, and he seemed legitimately concerned. 

“Yeah, it’s just a headache. I’ll take a Tylenol or something, don’t worry about it.” She waved her hand at him dismissively. 

He nodded, appearing lost in thought. “Are you sure? I can get Mazikeen to--” 

“Lucifer, I’ll live. Besides, it’s late. I should probably go to sleep anyway.” Chloe wasn’t really tired—she just wanted to quit while she was ahead. Not to mention, she was scared of what she _would_ say if she kept drinking. 

Lucifer stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles on his jacket before holding out his hand for Chloe to grab. She did so, and followed him as he walked to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ms. Decker.” 

Chloe raised an eyebrow. “Tomorrow?” 

“Tomorrow.” 

A beat passed where they smiled at each other like a pair of love-stricken teenagers, and Chloe had to restrain the urge to lean up and kiss the annoying man who claimed he was the Devil. Instead, she wished him a good night and closed the door, unable to wipe the smile off her face. 

Chloe made her way to her bed and grabbed her phone, grinning the entire way. 

**Chloe (10:32 p.m.)** : Ells? 

**Chloe (10:33 p.m.)** : I opened the box. 

**Chloe (10:33 p.m.)** : The cat’s alive after all. :) 


	6. Glasses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SEASON 3 SPOILERS!!  
> Lucifer takes Trixie to get a pair of glasses while helping her with one of her fears.  
> Established Pecker. Pre-Marriage Proposal. Angsty Lucifer. Need I say more?
> 
> Prompt: Glasses

“Lucifer!”

Lucifer jumped back at the sudden outburst. You would think that the Devil would get used to a ten-year old yelling his name and running at his legs every single time that she saw him, but unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“Yes, hello child.” Lucifer patted the offspring’s head and spared a pleading glance towards the Detective, who was holding back an eye roll. The offspring had her wide, toothy grin plastered on her face as she always did when Lucifer was around, but her eyes were squinted heavily as if she were having trouble seeing a few inches in front of her. A pang of concern hit Lucifer’s heart, but he quickly shoved it down as the offspring detached herself from Lucifer and ran into her mother’s arms.

The Detective crouched down and embraced her offspring, running her hands down the child’s hair. “It’s gonna be fine, Monkey. Lucifer is going with you, okay?” The Detective leaned back, cupping the urchin’s face in her hands. “It’s just going to pick out your glasses.”

“And the Eyeball Man?”

“Nothing’s going to happen, honey.”

The two shared another embrace, and Lucifer kept his hands in his pockets as he stood at the door, unsure what to do with this amount of annoying affection. The urchin’s smile returned as she turned around and ran past Lucifer through the open door, already making her way to his car. Lucifer made a mental note to disinfect the entire car after this outing.

“The ‘Eyeball Man?’” Lucifer couldn’t help but question, as he raised an eyebrow with a slight smirk.

The Detective shook her head. “I took her to get an eye exam the other day, and she got freaked out by the tools. Now she’s convinced that the optometrist is out to steal her eyes.”

Lucifer let out a short chuckle. “Well, that doesn’t sound like fun for anyone.”

“Don’t encourage it, Lucifer.” The Detective pointed her finger at Lucifer menacingly. At least, it would’ve been menacing if it wasn’t so adorable.

Dear Dad, did he just say _adorable_?

“I don’t need her being terrified of the eye doctor for the rest of her life. I’m serious.” The Detective continued, crossing her arms.

“Yes, yes, I won’t entertain it.”

The Detective sighed and narrowed her eyes at Lucifer. “Alright, now it’s just to the optometrist and back. No joyrides, no taking her to another school-“

“That happened _one_ time, Detective.”

“-and no letting her drive.”

Lucifer rolled his eyes this time. “Truly boring, but you have my word. The child will be safe with me.”

“I know.” The Detective blew a stray hair out of her face. “Look, I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t have to deal with the case, and the babysitter quit on me last minute, and Marcus-“

“It’s quite alright, Detective.” Lucifer interrupted sharply at the mention of that vermin. He took a breath and resumed his casual smile. “After all, I ruled Hell for eons—I believe I can survive an outing with your offspring.” A brief honking noise came from outside, and both adults turned around to see the waving and smiling urchin, sitting in the driver’s seat of Lucifer’s car.

Lucifer exhaled and turned back towards the Detective. “Well, that appears to be my cue.”

She smiled warmly at him. “Thank you, Lucifer.”

Lucifer glanced down and cleared his throat before meeting her eyes again. “You’re welcome, Detective.”

Another honk, followed by a loud “Come on!”

Lucifer nodded in the Detective’s direction one more time as a goodbye before turning around and walking out the door, inhaling deeply. The frantic and energetic urchin was still sitting in the driver’s seat, her hands tapping against the steering wheel.

“Can I drive?!”

“No.”

\---

“This one?”

“Too wide.”

“This one?”

“Too pink!”

Lucifer sighed exasperatedly. After a twenty-minute car ride with the little urchin begging to drive the car every five seconds, the child had decided that none of the glasses in the optometrist’s office were suitable enough. With every pair that he pointed towards, the child would huff and cross her arms.

He was almost sure this was a form of punishment in at least _one_ of the rooms in Hell. Perhaps two.

“Urchin, we’ve been here for half an hour. There has to be one pair that you so desire.”

“Nuh-uh! All of these are so boring!”

“Boring? I don’t believe that glasses were created to be particularly interesting.”

The child’s temper tantrum stopped immediately, her eyes widening in fear. The urchin glued herself to one of Lucifer’s legs like her life depended on it. It took everything inside of Lucifer not to jump away from the child. He was going to ask what had happened when a person in a white coat caught his eye, far in the corner. He assumed this person was the optometrist and let out a short chuckle as realization hit him.

The ‘Eyeball Man.’

“Child?” Lucifer questioned cautiously, looking down at the urchin.

“I don’t want him to take away my eyes.” She mumbled quietly and scooted closer to Lucifer. He looked around and glared at one parent who had been staring with judgmental eyes. With a sigh, Lucifer crouched on one knee so that he was eye-to-eye with the child.

“Nobody is going to take away your eyes, Urchin. Not while I’m around. Have I ever lied?”

“No.” She grumbled.

“Then believe me when I say that I won’t let anything happen to you or your mother.” Lucifer smiled softly, and the child returned it.

The urchin glanced behind her at the man in the white coat. “So he won’t take my eyes?”

“Consider them intact.”

A beat.

The child grinned widely. “That’s good. I like seeing things.”

Lucifer got up from the floor, lightly dusting his pants. “Speaking of which, do you see any pair that you like so we can finally leave this awful place?”

The urchin bit the side of her cheek in thought as she glanced around the office again before her eyes caught something and she lit up in glee. The child sprinted to the other end of the room, almost hitting that same parent who had been staring. Lucifer made sure that he gave the parent an intimidating glare before walking past her and following the newly energetic child.

“Look at these, Lucifer!” The child grabbed a pair off of the stand, waving them in the air. They were black and had red stripes on the sides with miniature flames lining the bottom. A tiny devil sticker was plastered on one of the lenses, reminding Lucifer that he really had to talk to that copyright lawyer sometime soon. “This one’s _so_ pretty!”

“I suppose it’s not too terrible.”

“Can I choose this one? Can I?”

Lucifer could imagine the Detective rolling her eyes. ‘ _Really, Lucifer? You’re letting Trixie get Devil glasses_?’ His inner Detective admonished in his mind. He grinned.

“If that’s what you so desire, Offspring.”

\---

After a small conversation with the optometrist, Lucifer managed to get the glasses for free. That would be an explanation owed to the Detective at a later time, but the Urchin seemed so happy with her new glasses, running around the parking lot and pointing out small details. “Look at that leaf! It’s so green!”

Lucifer guessed that having better vision had its perks.

“Wow! Your car has so many details, Lucifer! Look at those seats!” The child yelled as she stood outside the door of the passenger’s seat. Lucifer chuckled slightly.

The child climbed into the car and Lucifer walked around so that he could get in the driver’s seat. The urchin settled down for a moment, sinking into the seat next to him. “Hey, Lucifer?”

“Yes, child?”

The urchin’s eyes glanced down at her hands, then back at Lucifer. “I don’t like that Marcus guy.”

Lucifer’s eyes widened momentarily, startled at the sudden mention of his foe. He chuckled mirthlessly, putting the key in his ignition. “Neither do I.”

“Mommy always seems happier with you. Plus, you don’t lie. I have a feeling that Marcus does. A lot.”

Clever child.

His mind did a double take at the offspring’s words. ‘ _Always seems happier with you._ ’ That couldn’t be true, could it? The Detective was in a happy relationship with Pierce—or, well, Cain. Lucifer had seen them together at the precinct, those stolen glances and loving smiles from the Detective that used to be reserved only for Lucifer.

He’d be lying if he said that it didn’t kill him a little inside every time that he bore witness to small instances of affection between the two, and Lucifer could never lie. Even still, if it meant that the Detective would be happy, he’d be willing to stand to the side and watch as the _one_ person that Lucifer had fallen for in millennia walked off into the sunset with someone else.

_Even if it was the first murderer._

But to hear from the Detective’s offspring that she was happier with him?

Now that stirred feelings that Lucifer didn’t know how to dissect. He’d definitely need to visit the Doctor soon.

Clearing his throat, Lucifer started the car and drove out of the parking lot. He spared the urchin a small glance, who was still bouncing in her seat excitedly. “Child?”

The urchin’s head snapped towards Lucifer.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it if you wanted to get some chocolate cake on the way back to your mothers’.”

“Really?!” The urchin squealed. Lucifer nodded, doing his best to hide the smile on his face.

“Really.” He confirmed.

With that, the two drove far from the optometrist’s office, and Lucifer grinned as the little urchin gushed over every little detail she could see on the road.  
  
\--

  
 **BONUS!**  
  
“ _Lucifer._ ”  
  
The Detective’s admonishing voice rang through Lucifer’s phone as he stood at the bar at Lux. “Yes, Detective?” He answered innocently.

“ _Can you explain why my daughter has Devil glasses_?”

“Er—”

“ _Or why she came home with an entire chocolate cake_?”

“I—”

“ _Lucifer_.”

“Oh, come now, Detective! She liked those particular glasses, and who was I to deny her desires?”

“ _Yeah, okay, and where’s the bill_?”

“Paid for.”

Lucifer could hear her sigh on the other end of the phone. “ _Lucifer, you’re not supposed to pay for my daughter’s things. I can handle the finances_.”

“I’m aware, Detective. I simply wanted to. No harm done.”

A beat of silence.

“ _She’s not scared of the ‘Eyeball Man’ anymore. I’m guessing you had something to do with it_?”

“I told your offspring the truth, that’s all.”

“ _And that is_?”

“That I wouldn’t let anything hurt her.” _Or you_ , were the words that remained unsaid. 

Even still, the Detective seemed to take this answer as it was, not pressing the matter further.

“ _Thank you for taking her, Lucifer_.”

Lucifer’s breath hitched. “No problem at all, Detective. I’ll see you at the precinct tomorrow?”

“ _Of course. Good night_.”

“Good night.”

Neither of them hung up for a good ten seconds. Lucifer thought, maybe hopefully, that she was avoiding hanging up first just as much as he was. The hope died though when the ‘Call Ended’ screen popped up a few seconds after. Lucifer exhaled quietly, holding the phone to his chest as he stood in his now-empty penthouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be following along with the r/Lucifer fic-vember prompt list this year! I'm already a day late, but I'll catch up as best as I can.


	7. Cupcake//Deckerstar One-Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Am I about 4 days late on the r/Lucifer fic-vember prompt list? Yes. Did I accidentally skip a prompt? Yes, I did. Am I going to post it anyway? Yup.
> 
> Without further ado, I present day three of the r/Lucifer fic-vember prompt list: Cupcake. 
> 
> Set in season 2, somewhere between episodes 15-17. Enjoy!

"Lucifer!"

Lucifer turned around in the precinct's parking lot, smiling as the Detective caught up to him. "Detective?"

"I almost forgot." the Detective said, catching her breath. She reached behind her back and pulled out a box, handing it to Lucifer. He cautiously took it from her, eyeing the sides of the box as though a bomb was inside. At his reaction, the Detective chuckled. "Just open it."

Lucifer did so, opening the sides of the box before lifting the cover. Inside of the box laid a small cupcake--red velvet. A small devil face was drawn on the top of the cupcake in purple icing, and a tiny paper was taped to the top of the box. ' _Happy birthday, Lucifer!_ ' was written on it, included with a stick-figure drawing which featured horns and a tail.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. The Devil didn't have a birthday, so why...? "Trixie drew the sign, I helped her with the baking. Oh, and she did the devil face too. I told her it might not have been the _best_ idea, but she was really stubborn about it." The Detective's voice drew Lucifer out of his own musing. "It's a tradition in my house. My dad started it when I was little. Every year on my birthday, he'd make me a cupcake from scratch, so I started doing it for Trixie a couple years back." she explained, fumbling for words.

Lucifer, meanwhile, had _no_ words. He didn't know how he felt, knowing that the Detective and his offspring had included him in their traditions. Not only that, but that the Detective remembered that today was technically a year from his 'rebirth' party. (To be honest, Lucifer hadn't even remembered the exact date himself.) He had never gotten a birthday gift before, much less one made with such effort. Lucifer cleared his throat.

He began saying, "Detective, I--" as the Detective simultaneously said, "I'm sorry, you don't have to--"

They both chuckled, and the Detective gestured towards him to speak first. Lucifer glanced at the box in his hands, then back at the Detective. "I've never received a, er-- a birthday gift, before." Lucifer sighed. "I will treasure this. Thank you, Detective." Lucifer clasped the box awkwardly in his hands, but he treated it carefully, as though it would break if one movement was too sharp.

"I'll let Trixie know that you liked it." the Detective smiled softly, taking a step backwards.

Lucifer nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line. "I'll be sure to put it somewhere safe."

"Alright, well, I'll let you get to your birthday celebrations. I'll see you tomorrow." the Detective turned around and started walking away. Lucifer fought himself in his mind, internally deciding whether or not it would be a good idea to invite the Detective over, especially after what they had been through lately. What _she_ had been through lately.

"Detective?" he called before his mind and his mouth could catch up. She turned around, her bright blue eyes shimmering in the glare of the lights on the ceiling. "I don't have any particular plans for my birthday. Would you care to come to Lux?"

In the darkness of the parking lot, Lucifer couldn't be sure, but it seemed as though a small flush ran through the Detective's cheeks. After a moment, she smirked. "Sure. Trix is with the babysitter tonight anyway."

"Lovely."

The two stood at a standstill until the Detective glanced away, breaking eye contact. "I'll see you later, Lucifer."

He nodded slightly as a form of goodbye, then turned towards his car. He couldn't help but glance behind him to see the Detective walk off as he stepped into his car. He finally set down the box in the passenger's seat, then eventually decided to leave it in his lap. After all, it was made with such care and effort that it'd be a waste if something happened to it.

He looked down, opening the box yet again with a smile creeping up on his face to see the devilish stick figure smiling back at him.

For once, Lucifer was looking forward to his birthday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll catch up with the fic-vember prompt list eventually, I swear.


	8. Time Travel// A Deckerstar One-Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day two of the r/Lucifer fic-vember prompt list!! I'll catch up...eventually. Major season 5A spoilers, so don't read if you're not caught up.

“He said that this was all part of some bigger plan and—should we go find him?”

Lucifer sighed. “Well, I’ll deal with him later, right now I’m just—I’m just happy to have you back.” He pulled Chloe into an embrace, and Chloe sighed contently in his arms. She had spent the last few days planning, watching her surroundings intently, not allowing herself a single second of rest. She had to get out, she had to escape and come back home to her daughter, to her friends, to him. 

And now, she was home. 

As Lucifer rubbed his hand against her back, Chloe chuckled silently. “Well, but from what I heard, you didn’t really need me. You caught a serial killer on your own?” 

“Oh,” Lucifer paused in thought. “Well, Maze and Ms. Lopez helped a bit, but yes, I suppose it was mostly me.” Lucifer pulled away from the hug, keeping his arms on her shoulders as if to reassure himself that Chloe was still here. “And you, in a way.” 

“What?” Chloe asked, unable to keep the smile off her face. 

“I channeled you, Detective. Did some actual casework—I really was my best you.” Chloe grinned. Lucifer could be his own detective at times, and Chloe couldn’t help but be proud of him. “Oh, and my best me! By the way, my mojo’s back. Isn’t that great?” 

Chloe’s smile froze. If Lucifer got his mojo back, then didn’t that mean…? 

“Really?” Chloe asked, trying her best to keep her voice as even and steady as possible. She was supposed to be supportive—after all, Lucifer desperately wanted to get his mojo back, so now that he had it, that was a good thing. Lucifer hummed happily in response. “Yeah, that’s—that is great.” 

Of course, Lucifer saw through her charade right away. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing! Nothing, I just—” Chloe paused. “Do you think I could still mojo you?” 

Lucifer glanced at her up and down, a smirk on his face. “Well, there’s no need. I promise to tell you everything I desire, no mojo required.” 

“Well, that’s assuming you know what you want.” The words left Chloe’s mouth before she could stop it, and she immediately regretted it when she saw Lucifer’s eyes flash with hurt. 

“Excuse me?” 

“I’m just wondering if, subconsciously, you might be pushing me away. Cause you say that you want this, and you say that you want us, but—” Chloe took a breath. “But do you?” 

“Where is this coming from?” Lucifer searched her eyes, his voice quieting into a whisper. 

“Well, if mojo-wise, you’re no longer letting me in; if now you’re vulnerable all the time, doesn’t that mean that you’re no longer choosing to be vulnerable with me?” 

Lucifer stayed silent before appearing to come to a decision in his mind. “I know what’s happened here. Michael got inside your head, didn’t he? What did he say to you?” 

“You know he taps into people’s fears.” Chloe glanced down, addressing Lucifer’s suit rather than Lucifer himself, not wanting to meet his eyes. “And yeah, _yes_ , I guess a part of me is afraid.” 

“Of what?” 

Chloe felt tears coming to her eyes, and she had to blink them back as she tried figuring out the best words to use. “Um, afraid that you don’t feel the same way that I feel about you.” Lucifer scoffed, but Chloe continued. “And the last thing I want to do is push you into saying something you don’t want to, but I know you can’t lie.” It was getting harder to blink back her tears. “So just tell me. Is that why you haven’t said it back?” 

“Haven’t said what back?” Lucifer asked, his eyes glossy. Finally, realization hit him. “ _Oh_.” Lucifer shifted on his feet. “Detective, it’s—it’s complicated.” 

Chloe sniffled, resolving not to let him see her cry. “Right.” she mumbled. 

That only seemed to fluster him further as he scrambled for words. “I do, Detective. Of course I do, I—” 

“Right, right.” 

“Dete— _Chloe_.” 

Chloe looked up at him with shock as she did whenever he used her name, an annoying amount of hope swelling in her mind. He seemed to gather his courage. “I…I lo—” 

-

Chloe woke up. 

Her head was pounding, screaming for a Tylenol or a nap; anything to stop the headache that was blurring Chloe’s vision. 

She audibly groaned, then opened her eyes sluggishly. How did she get home? She had been in the evidence closet with Lucifer, and he’d almost said those three fateful words, and then—and then what? 

Her memories didn’t allow her to remember anything after that, and Chloe furrowed her eyebrows. She wasn’t even in her apartment or in the penthouse at Lux. It took her a moment to realize that she was back in her mother’s house, where she had lived five years ago. 

Chloe got up cautiously—after having spent the last few days kidnapped in a cave, you couldn’t blame her for being wary. Especially considering she had no memory of how she had gotten here, halfway across town. 

Chloe stumbled into the bathroom, washing her hands. As she brushed her teeth and glanced at the mirror, she froze—her bangs were gone. Her hair was completely different than from how it had been almost five minutes ago. 

Something was seriously wrong here. 

Turning off the running water, Chloe walked into the hallway that looked exactly the same as it had when she moved out. Holding a palm to her temple, Chloe made her way to the kitchen, where Trixie was sitting. 

“Mommy!” 

Trixie turned to face Chloe, and she was met with the grinning face of her adorable seven-year old. 

Her seven-year old who should’ve been _twelve_. 

“Hey, monkey.” Chloe greeted warily. “Um, shouldn’t you be dressed already?” 

“Don’t you remember, Mommy? You told me that you’d make me eggs today!” 

Chloe chuckled, her mind far away. “I’m sorry, honey. I have to get ready for work, and, uh—isn’t Daddy picking you up today?” Chloe didn’t actually know if Dan was supposed to pick her up, but she was guessing. 

“Uh-huh!” Trixie got off the chair she had been sitting on, rushing into her room to get dressed. Chloe felt like she was probably going insane—her hair had changed, she was back home, her daughter was seven, and she had no clue how she got here. 

There had to be a reasonable explanation for this, right? 

Chloe cleared her throat, deciding she’d talk to Lucifer and figure all of this out—maybe it had something to do with this celestial nonsense that Michael had put her through lately. Maybe it had to do with that ‘bigger plan’ of his. Either way, Lucifer would help her figure it out.

A knock on the door brought Chloe out of her musing. Thinking it was Lucifer, Chloe darted to the door only to realize that Dan was standing on the other side. She exhaled, blowing a hair out of her face. 

“Dan, hey. Trixie’s getting ready in her room.” She moved to the side so that Dan could walk in, but Dan eyed her cautiously, standing at the door. “You can—come in?” When he didn’t move, Chloe cleared her throat awkwardly. “Hey, have you heard from Lucifer?” 

Dan raised an eyebrow. “Who?” 

“Lucifer.” When Dan didn’t respond, she snickered. “My partner? The guy who steals your pudding?” 

“Chloe, I don’t know who you’re talking about, but I have to get to work, so…” he trailed off. _Wow. Douche, much?_ The way that he was speaking to her reminded her of how he had been during their marriage. He was being standoffish, judgmental, and not at all the person that she had considered her friend. 

At that moment, Trixie came out dressed. “Hi, Daddy!” she waved happily. He smiled at her, holding his hand out for her to take. Dan glanced up at Chloe, nodding briefly, before the two of them walked to his car. Chloe crossed her arms—something was very, very off. 

That damn Michael. 

Chloe grabbed her purse and made her way to her own car, deciding to go to the precinct. If Lucifer were anywhere, he’d be there. Chloe’s heart fluttered for a second at the thought of Lucifer almost saying ‘I love you,’ but she pushed the feeling down. The first step was to figure out this apparent time-switch and find out why her daughter had become considerably younger and why she had moved back home without her consent. The next step would be to fix her and Lucifer’s relationship. 

One hell of a ‘To-Do’ list for today, if you asked Chloe. 

\- 

Chloe drove fairly quickly to the precinct, going above the speeding limit by at least ten miles. She walked inside and made her way to her desk. 

No steaming coffee cup. No lemon bar. No Lucifer. 

Chloe’s phone began to ring, and she grabbed it quickly in hopes that Lucifer was calling with news on what was happening, but deflated when she realized it was Dan. 

“Hey.” she greeted dryly. 

“ _There’s a new case, a body dropped outside of a nightclub. It’s called Lux—do you need directions_?” Chloe’s heart pounded in her ears. Somebody died in Lux—Lucifer couldn’t be hurt, right? He had become invulnerable again, even when he was with Chloe, so there was no way he could be dead. 

“Uh, no. No, I’ll find my way. Thanks, Dan.” Chloe stammered. She hung up quickly, already grabbing her things and making her way to her car. 

\- 

When she got to Lux, Dan was already standing outside. She didn’t see Ella anywhere, which was uncommon for the energy ball that was their forensic scientist. 

“Dan, has Ella come by yet?”

For the second time that day, Dan looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Who are all these people you keep coming up with? Is it improv or something?” 

Chloe chuckled mirthlessly. This had to be some big practical joke that Michael or Lucifer’s father was playing on her. There was no way that time really rewound to five years ago, to before Ella had joined the LAPD. She shook her head. She just needed to talk to Lucifer. 

“Could you just tell me about the case?” 

“Delilah, 29.” Chloe felt her heart drop into her stomach. “There was an apparent drive-by shooting, only one witness. He owns this place, apparently.” 

Chloe didn’t let him finish, instead walking directly to the side door of Lux. After a brief tussle with the handle, she finally made her way in and scanned the main floor. 

That’s when she saw him. 

He was playing the piano, his fingers hitting the keys to bring together a beautiful melody. It made her smile for a moment until she realized the gravity of her situation. “Lucifer!” she called. He turned around to face her and grinned. She walked closer to the piano. “Something really weird is happening.” 

“Oh?” he asked, his smile never leaving. 

“Yeah, you haven’t noticed that time kind of, I don’t know, _rewound_ five years?” When he furrowed his eyebrows, she fumbled for words. “I woke up this morning at home. Like, _home_ , home. And Trixie is seven, and I have a feeling that your brother has something to do with this.” 

His smile faltered. “Darling, are you well?” 

She let out an incredulous laugh. “Well? No, I’m not _well_. I have no clue how to fix any of this.” 

“You know, you _do_ look familiar.” he said, scanning her up and down. Chloe already had an inkling of a suspicion, but she pushed it down. “Have we had sex?” 

That’s when Chloe could almost feel her heart break. 

He didn’t remember her. 

That’s exactly what he said to her the first time that they met, five years ago. Back then, she had been utterly annoyed by his attempts, but right now, she would’ve given anything to make him remember. 

Right now it hurt to look at him, so she quickly excused herself and walked out, standing in the alleyway. 

Chloe Decker, a mortal, the human in love with the Devil, the supposed “miracle,” was the only one who realized that time had rewound. She was forced back into the universe where she wasn’t divorced, where she was still the outcast because of the Palmetto case, and—oh dear Lucifer’s dad, _Malcolm_. He hadn’t woken up yet, and when he did, he’d go after Trixie and he would shoot Lucifer, and— 

“Chloe?” 

Dan was standing next to her in the alleyway, his hand on her back. She wished that he remembered, that the person she had come to consider a close friend was standing next to her at that moment instead of the person who lied to her and made her feel crazy. 

He hadn’t met Charlotte yet, he hadn’t dealt with that grief. That train of thought led her to think about Charlotte herself. Charlotte hadn’t been possessed, nor had she died. Well, for the second and final time. At this point in time—probably, anyway—she was still a crooked lawyer who was doing dirty deeds for money. 

Pierce. Pierce hadn’t become lieutenant, she hadn’t gotten engaged to that scum, he hadn’t hurt so many of her friends yet. 

Lucifer. Right now, he was living out his playboy lifestyle and enjoying all the fruits that Earth could offer. He only knew Chloe as the ‘girl in Hot Tub High School,’ not as his partner or as his first love. 

_The prophecy._

_Father Kinley._

_Rome._

_Poisoning Lucifer._

_Michael._

With every realization, Chloe felt her resolve strengthen. There were so many mistakes that she had made, so many cases that took her a tad too long to solve. If this really was Michael or Lucifer’s dad at work, then at least she had time to figure it out. 

Maybe, after a certain point, she could talk to Lucifer about it and he could help her. 

When he trusted her, of course. 

She glanced at Dan, who was still standing next to her. At least he had the decency to give her time to think. She smiled softly—yes, he was a douche right now, but she now knew how much potential he had. He could become a better person; he will become a better person. 

She nodded her head although he didn’t ask anything. “I’m okay.” 

“Alright.” He patted her back awkwardly and walked away, heading towards one of the officers on the scene. 

Chloe inhaled, then exhaled, trying to bring herself together. This was pure insanity, but she had to adapt. If this was the card she was being dealt, she was willing to play it. 

She wasn’t sure how _much_ she could change; if Ella were here, she was sure that she’d say something about the space time continuum and about the butterfly effect, but how much truth did that actually hold? 

If she could prevent being poisoned, prevent Charlotte’s death, prevent so much pain and anguish, she had to at least try. 

She had to try. 

Taking another breath, Chloe turned around and walked back to the side door that led to Lux’s interior. She held the handle in her hand for a moment before turning it, gathering her courage, and walking in. She met Lucifer’s concerned and confused gaze immediately. 

“Hi.” she started awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I had you confused with someone else. I’ve been all out of sorts today. Could we start over, please?” 

He scanned her expression, eventually coming to some kind of internal decision. “Of course, Detective.” 

The nickname stabbed at Chloe’s heart, but she kept her face neutral. “Your name, please?” she grabbed her notebook that sat in the pocket of her coat. 

“Lucifer Morningstar.” he continued playing the piano as he spoke. 

“Lucifer Morningstar,” she repeated. “What is that, a stage name or something?”

He chuckled. “God-given, I’m afraid.” 

-


	9. Bread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4 of the r/Lucifer fic-vember challenge. Featuring Babysitter!Ella and Trixie! They decide to do some baking and it doesn't exactly go as planned. Enjoy!

Ella had no idea how she ended up babysitting.

She imagined that it was probably due to a deal made between her and Chloe after a tequila shot too many during one of their tribe nights, but it didn’t bother her. After all, Trixie was a sweetheart—not to mention, she had an amazing taste in shirts.

Ella stood outside of Chloe’s apartment door, fidgeting with her hands. Finally, the door opened and Ella was met by the smiling face of Trixie. “Hi, Ella!” she exclaimed.

“Hey, Trix!” Ella replied with equal enthusiasm.

Trixie turned around and yelled into the house. “Mom, Ella’s here!”

Chloe came out of the kitchen, clearly in a hurry. She met Ella’s eyes, smiling briefly. “Hey, Ella. Thanks again for doing this, I just couldn’t get the babysitter in time and Dan’s out on that case.” she explained, grabbing her purse.

“It’s no problem, Chloe.” Trixie moved out of the way, allowing for Ella to walk in. “Besides, I love hanging out with Trix.” Ella put her purse down on the couch.

“Okay, so, numbers are on the fridge.” Chloe walked towards Ella, glancing down at Trixie. “She’s supposed to do homework first—”

“That’s so boring, Mom.” Trixie interjected.

“—and _then_ she can watch some TV. But only afterwards, alright?” Chloe questioned, addressing Trixie rather than Ella. Chloe then turned her attention towards Ella. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Please make sure she doesn’t burn the house down?”

“I’ll do my best.” Ella winked.

-

  
Trixie finished her homework fairly quickly.

Soon enough, Ella and Trixie sat in front of the couch, searching for something to watch. Trixie had snuggled herself into Ella’s side as they scanned Netflix. Finally, they landed on a cooking show that they both liked.

“That looks so good!” Trixie mentioned, pointing at the screen during one of the segments.

“It really does.” Ella felt her mouth watering. The recipe was a homemade artisan bread that one of the chefs was making from scratch. It looked delicious, and Ella couldn’t help but notice Trixie’s expression. _Chloe wouldn’t get too mad, would she?_ Ella made a split-second decision. “Hey, Trix? Why don’t we make our own bread?”

Trixie’s head snapped up to face Ella. “Really?!”

“Really. I think your mom has some yeast around here, right?”

Trixie got up from Ella’s side, rushing into the kitchen. Ella chuckled at her enthusiasm as she got up from the couch, stretching slightly. She walked into the kitchen, where Trixie had already gotten the yeast and some flour.

“Alright, so I think we need some water.” Ella said, opening the fridge to look for a gallon of water. Trixie hummed along happily as she measured the flour.

“How much flour is it supposed to be?”

“Uh, 3 cups?”

“I thought it was 3 and a half.”

“I don’t think half a cup will make a difference, Trix.”

Trixie shrugged and measured out three cups of flour. Some of it spilled on the counter, but Ella reminded herself that they’d clean it up later. “What about yeast?”

“2 teaspoons, I think.” Ella answered. She really wished that she had paid more attention to the cooking show, but decided that it would lower her authority if she rewound it to double check. “Okay, what else, what else?” she muttered, wracking her brain for the other ingredients.

“Salt!” Trixie exclaimed, rushing to the other side of the kitchen. Ella, meanwhile, had already grabbed the gallon of cool water. She eventually decided on using one and a half cups, pouring it into a measuring glass.

The two stood side-by-side at their gathered ingredients. Now was the hard part; making the bread.

“Okay, so what did we see the chef do first?” Ella questioned. At the very least, this could be an educational experience.

“Um, I think he mixed the dry stuff. Can I do that?!” Trixie asked, jumping up and down. Ella nodded, so Trixie ran to a bowl that was on the counter, pouring the flour and yeast together. She then added the salt, mixing it together with a spatula. Eventually, the mixture became harder for Trixie to stir as it got thicker, so Ella took over. Afterwards, Trixie poured the water into the mixture.

“What’s next?”

“Now, we shape it!”

Both Ella and Trixie shaped the mixture with their hands (‘ _You have to wash your hands first, Trix_ ,’ Ella warned.) and made the mixture into a ball-like shape. Ella covered it in aluminum foil and set it on the counter. “I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to wait about three hours now. Come on, let’s finish the show.”

-

Three hours passed.

Ella and Trixie had lost themselves in their cooking show, but Chloe had sent a text that she would be later than expected, so it gave them time to get back to their homemade bread. The two walked into the kitchen, and their attention was drawn to the counter where the dough had been left.

“Woah.”

Ella shared Trixie’s awe—the dough had definitely risen, and it looked very different from when they had left it three hours ago. Ella cleared her throat—“Alright, let’s shape these dudes.”

The two shaped the dough into several loaves, which proved to be easier than expected. The instructions were to leave the loaves on the counter to set for about 45 minutes, so they did just that. Once about half an hour had passed, they preheated the oven and got the baking sheet ready.

Finally, they put the loaves onto the baking sheet and put on a timer for 25 minutes, so that the bread could cook. As Ella turned on the timer, she glanced at Trixie with a smile. “This is _so_ easy! I wasn’t expecting this to go this smoothly, Trix.”

“I know, right?”

“Come on, let’s go play some Zelda.”

-

“ _Dios mio_ , I swear that if I have to pay 45 rupees for a shield every time it burns on Death Mountain, these guys are going to make me broke.”

“I told you, Ella! You’re not supposed to use the shield to block yourself from fire.”

“But then what’s the point of having one?”

“To fight people!”

Ella groaned as she held the controller, Trixie giggling next to her. Suddenly, the room smelled like something was burning. “Trix, do you smell that?”

Trixie nodded, scrunching her nose at the smell.

That’s when realization hit Ella; the bread was still in the oven. As quickly as she could, Ella darted up and ran into the kitchen, grabbing an oven mitt. Smoke was coming from the oven, so she turned on a small fan and opened the oven door, grabbing the baking sheet.

“Ow, ow, ow.” she muttered, practically throwing the baking sheet on the counter. She glanced behind her to make sure that Trixie wasn’t harmed in any way before sadly drawing her attention back to the sheet.

The bread had been completely burnt, charred to a crisp. It was flat—too much water, maybe? Either way, the bread was unsalvageable. Trixie stood next to Ella, her shoulders drooped in disappointment. “Well, at least it was fun to make, right?” Ella asked hopefully.

Trixie grinned. “Yeah, it was really fun.”

Ella glanced at the mess in the kitchen, exhaling as she put her hands on her hips. “I guess it’s time to clean up.”

-

Chloe came home about an hour later.

Ella and Trixie had managed to clean up, making the house appear spotless, and were now back to where they started—searching Netflix for something to watch.

The doorknob shook, and eventually opened. Chloe walked in, smiling immediately as Trixie ran over to her. They shared in an embrace, and Ella smiled at the sight—Chloe really was a good mom, and she loved her kid.

Chloe straightened herself and looked at Ella. “Everything okay over here?”

“Yup. Totally normal. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Chloe glanced at Trixie, and then put down her purse. “Hey, what’s that smell?”

“Science project.” Ella said, at the same time that Trixie said “Volcano.” Trixie then said “Science project,” when Ella switched to “Volcano.”

Ella shifted on her feet. “Er, a science project that involved a volcano?”

Chloe looked at Trixie, then back at Ella, then back at Trixie. She exhaled. “You know what, I’m not even gonna ask.”

The two said their goodbyes, and Ella gave one last wave to Trixie as she stepped out of the apartment. “Come back again soon?” Trixie asked hopefully.

Ella giggled. “Of course, Trix. See you later!”

The apartment door closed, and Ella stood out in the hallway as she exhaled a breath. That was certainly an eventful afternoon that ended with a burnt bread and no rupees.

_How had she ended up babysitting again?_


	10. Undercover//Deckerstar One-Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 5 of the r/Lucifer fic-vember prompt list!  
> While Chloe and Ella go undercover, Dan and Lucifer are stuck in the surveillance van. Dan gives Lucifer some much needed advice. Dan POV! Enjoy! :D

“Detective Douche, must you always be so boring?”

Dan rolled his eyes. It felt like muscle memory at this point—Lucifer would say something insulting, Dan would roll his eyes and resolve to ignore him for the rest of his life, and things would go on as normal. However, stuck in the van that the department supplied for this sting operation with nowhere to go or retreat to, Dan was painfully aware of the gun that he had by his side. “Can you just shut up, man?”

“Ah, I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

“And don’t we all know it.” Dan grumbled.

“ _Hey, uh, could you guys at least mute yourselves if you’re going to be bickering like an old married couple?_ ” Ella’s voice rang through the walkie-talkie, startling both males in the van.

“We don’t bicker like a--” Lucifer started, offended.

“ _You totally do. All you need are some canes and wedding rings and you’re good to go._ ” Ella giggled, and Dan put his face in his hands, wishing he was literally anywhere else but here.

“ _Okay, all of you, shush. We’re here to do a job--_ ” Chloe’s voice came through the walkie-talkie.

“Thank you, Detective!” Lucifer interjected, gesturing with his hand.

“ _\--not to certify Dan and Lucifer’s marriage_.”

Lucifer made a noise of protest while Ella snickered in the background. Dan even swore he heard what sounded like a high-five between the two women completing the sting. “Okay,” Dan started, determined to get back on track. “Have we got eyes on the perp?”

“ _Not yet. Ella’s still making rounds._ ” Chloe responded.

Their murder victim, Stephanie Vera, worked at a prestigious club, normally open to only the highest elite. So when she was found face-down in the club’s parking lot, it was a shock to her coworkers and to the regular partygoers. 

Then when they found a bloody handkerchief branded with the club’s logo—which appeared to be an amateur’s last-ditch effort to clean up all the blood—the department figured that the suspect was one of the waiters who were known to wear handkerchiefs as a part of their uniform.

The department decided to send in Chloe and Ella undercover to try and get more information—’ _It’s called gossip, Dan,_ ’ Ella had chided—from both the employees and any regulars that attended the club on a consistent basis.

Unfortunately, that left Dan and Lucifer as the surveillance team, and neither could stand the other.

“Alright, keep us posted.” Dan finally said, muting the walkie-talkie from his end. He dropped his hands into his lap, not knowing what to do. Lucifer, meanwhile, was sitting as far away from Dan as possible—which, in reality, was only about a foot away in this compact and cramped van.

Dan exhaled, not sure what the best course of action would be. Before his brain and his mouth could catch up, he found himself blurting, “What you’re doing isn’t cool.”

Lucifer seemed almost as shocked at Dan’s declaration, but quickly schooled his face back into a neutral expression. “And what is it that I’m doing, Daniel?””

“With Chloe. Parading that girl around like she’s your newest plaything.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but Eve is not my newest plaything.”

“Oh, really? Because last time this happened, you came back from a two-week bender married and with a _wife_ on your arm. That lasted what, a week? How long will this one last?”

“She accepts me for who I am.” Lucifer sat up in his seat, his proverbial feathers clearly ruffled. “The Detective doesn’t seem to hold that same level of understanding. There are events that have occurred between us that I’m afraid I can’t share with you.”

Dan scoffed. “I have never seen anyone more accepting of you and all of your--” Dan gestured towards him. “--Lucifer-ness than Chloe. She’s the one who’s always had your back, always been the first one to defend you against everyone at the precinct.”

“Er--”

“She doesn’t need me to come to her defense, but I’m just letting you know as her friend that the whole back-and-forth you two have? It’s not fair on her.” Lucifer opened his mouth, then shut it, deciding against saying anything. He glanced out of the window of the van, clearly wanting to be anywhere else. Dan sighed, trying to put together the thoughts in his head into coherent sentences. “Look, man, all I’m saying is that you need to be straight up with her. Choose a side and stick with it, and if in the end, you decide that Eva--”

“ _Eve_.”

“--is the one that you want, then go for it. But that would be making a huge mistake, no matter what’s going on with you and Chloe right now.” Lucifer met Dan’s eyes again. “Seriously, tell me that you don’t care about her.”

Lucifer didn’t hesitate. “Of course I do.”

“I mean in a romantic sense.”

Lucifer didn’t have the chance to respond when they both heard a rustling sound coming from the walkie-talkie—it sounded like an altercation. Dan grabbed the walkie-talkie quickly. “What’s going on?”

“ _I’m still inside, I think Chloe said that she spotted someone outside. I’m already on my way_.” Ella reported back. Grunting noises could be heard through the walkie-talkie, which Dan assumed was from Chloe’s mic. More than likely, she had caught a runner and was in pursuit. Dan glanced at Lucifer, whose eyes were racing quickly, his brows furrowed in concern.

When he heard Chloe cry out in pain through the walkie-talkie, Lucifer was the first to jump up and rush out of the van. Dan followed, but his speed was no match for Lucifer’s long and panicked strides. Dan felt for his gun as the two made their way around the club to the back area, where they could audibly hear an ongoing fight. 

When they finally got there, Chloe had her knee on the suspect’s back, already putting his hands in handcuffs. Her back was to the two males. “Chloe, you okay?” Dan asked, holstering his gun.

“I’m good.” Chloe got up and faced them. Dan inhaled sharply—the area underneath Chloe’s eye was already swollen, and there was a small bruise forming on her cheek. “He got a couple of hits in, but I’ll be fine.”

Lucifer’s eyes seemed to gleam with red, but Dan brushed it off as a trick of the light. Lucifer instinctively walked forward, his fists clenched as he stepped towards the suspect who was still face-down on the ground, hands behind his back. Chloe stepped in his way. “Lucifer, I said I’m fine.”

“He _hurt_ you, Detective.”

“Yeah, and he’s going to jail. I got motive _and_ opportunity, not to mention the fact that he ran.” she explained, her voice stone-cold. Lucifer met Chloe’s eyes and they softened instantly. His hand reached up and cupped Chloe’s face, his thumb rubbing her unharmed cheek lightly. She winced audibly—the bruise on her other cheek was darkening by the minute and the swelling was increasing.

“I’m sorry,” Lucifer mumbled. Dan quietly wondered what it was that he was really apologizing for.

She shook her head slightly. “It’s fine.”

Dan shifted on his feet awkwardly. Eventually, either Lucifer or Chloe realized the situation and backed away from each other. Chloe switched back into detective mode, directing her attention to a few cops, including a frantically worried Ella, who had finally made their way to the back of the club. She quickly pushed past both Dan and Lucifer and briefed them on the situation. She nodded towards Dan and Lucifer in a nonverbal ‘thanks,’ and followed the cops as they grabbed the suspect and made their way to the station cars.

Once Chloe was well out of sight, Dan finally looked at Lucifer again, who appeared lost in thought. When their eyes met, Dan gave him a knowing look. “I’m telling you, man, just choose. She’s not going to be here forever.” He walked away before Lucifer could respond, deciding against sticking around for any further mocking from the latter.

Before he left the scene, he couldn’t help but glance back to where Lucifer was still standing. He was staring in Chloe’s direction, who was still going on as if she hadn’t gotten punched in the face, probably multiple times. Dan made a mental note to take Trixie for the night so that Chloe could have some much-needed rest after that altercation. 

The buzz around Chloe had soon dissipated, officers disappearing to get back to the station, and Dan could see Ella give her a goodbye hug before she left as well. Chloe let out a sigh, clearly worn out. Lucifer, a few feet away, put his hands in his pockets and walked over to Chloe. Dan couldn’t hear their conversation from this distance, but he could tell that Lucifer had finally, for once, followed his advice.

Dan shook his head, chuckling to himself as he opened his car door and sat inside.

_Those two..._


	11. Strip Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 6 of the r/Lucifer fic-vember prompt list. Set in between 2x07 and 2x08. Linda knows everything and Maze wants to give her an early birthday present. Enjoy! :D

“Close your eyes.”

Linda exhaled, knowing that her friend—demoness and all—would never willingly put Linda in any danger. It didn’t stop her heart from thundering with worry and anticipation as Maze tied a blindfold around her eyes and began leading her away from her office.

She still wasn’t used to all of this; Heaven, Hell, angels, demons (much like the one who was ecstatic about giving Linda her early birthday present), the existence of God being an absolute fact, the Devil—who had tremendous family issues, a terrible case of narcissism, and way too many insecurities for her to count. It was all thrown onto Linda’s lap like a bowl of cereal when it felt more like Lux itself had fallen directly on top of her.

She was trying to carry on as best as she could. She took Lucifer back as a patient, and she was fixing her friendship with Maze. Naturally, when it had accidentally slipped that Linda’s birthday was coming up and Maze quickly offered to do something special for the occasion, Linda couldn’t refuse.

Except now, when she was walking blindly towards what very well could’ve been her own demise, Linda found herself wishing that she would’ve at least _asked_ what Maze’s plans were.

“Maze?” Linda cautiously asked. “This surprise doesn’t involve a ton of knives, right? Or— burning me with hellfire, or anything like that?”

Maze snorted as she held Linda’s arm steadily as they walked down what Linda discerned was a long hallway. “No, I’ve learned that humans don’t do well with that kind of thing.”

“Wait, you’ve actually done that?”

“Anyway,” Maze said, clearly ignoring Linda’s question. “We’re here.”

Linda felt the blindfold slowly slip off her face as the door in front of her opened slowly with a creak. The whole situation couldn’t have screamed ‘horror movie’ any more than it did at this moment. Maze nudged her into the dark and seemingly empty room.

‘ _And this is where I die_.’ A small part of Linda thought. ‘ _A dark room with nowhere to run to_.’

Maze left Linda’s side and walked towards something in the corner that Linda couldn’t see when the lights came on, causing her to see spots for a moment.

When her vision came back to her, Linda’s eyes widened. “A _cake_?”

Maze nodded with a grin. Linda took a step closer to the cake that was sitting in the middle of the room. It was an extremely large cake, especially to Linda’s standards where a typical ‘birthday cake’ was a single cupcake with a very sad candle. She let out a chuckle of disbelief. “Maze, how did you afford this? This is—”

Before Linda could even blink, something jumped out of the cake with immense speed. Linda jumped back in surprise, almost into Maze’s arms, when she realized what had jumped out of the cake. Or rather, _who_ had jumped out of the cake.

A dancing stripper stood directly in front of Linda, half of his body still in the plastic cake.

Linda wordlessly turned around and stepped out of the brightened room and into the hallway. Once she had closed the door behind her, she let her back hit the wall and slowly slid onto the floor, hitting the ground with a small thud.

She hid her face in her hands.

And she laughed.

She couldn't help the chuckles escaping her. She had been so scared, so anxious that Maze had been plotting some evil scheme. And Maze had hired strippers for Linda's birthday.

A real demon, one forged in the flames of Hell, one who was extremely clear about her ability to torture people and her _enjoyment_ of it in the process; this same demon was so concerned about regaining Linda's friendship that she hired a stripper for her birthday.

Her chuckles were dying down as she heard the door open and saw Maze walk out. Once Maze spotted her down the hallway, she briskly made her way towards her. "Linda? What happened?"

Linda dismissively waved in her direction, trying to get her thoughts together. Maze crouched down towards Linda's eye-level, her face clouded with worry. "Was the stripper too much? The stripper was too much."

"No, no, the stripper wasn't too much, Maze." Linda explained.

Maze interrupted her. “I'm sorry, Linda. I know things have been really awkward lately, and I suck at human emotions, so I wanted to do something special, and--"

Linda grabbed Maze's hand waving wildly in the air and squeezed it in reassurance. "Hey. It's completely fine. I'm sorry for walking out." She sighed. "Things are good between us. It's taking me a little bit to get used to everything, but I'm trying my best, okay? We’re good."

Maze nodded slowly then glanced down, biting the inside of her cheek. "So, you like your surprise?"

Linda smiled. "I _love_ my surprise."

Maze grinned and straightened herself, holding out her hand for Linda to grab. "Great. Now, come on. This stripper's not gonna dance by himself." Linda grabbed her hand and stood up, unable to take the smile off her face.

As the two walked down the hallway, Linda chuckled. "Hey, where did you find this guy anyway?"

"Ellen, actually."

Linda gripped the doorknob, taking a breath as she readied herself for what was waiting on the other side of the door. This was going to be one hell of a birthday gift.

Pun _definitely_ intended.


	12. Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 7 of the r/Lucifer fic-vember prompt list. Not set in any specific time, although it might fit somewhere in season 2. A cute lil Maze & Trixie one-shot where Maze might beat someone up. Enjoy! :D

"Maze?"

Trixie's shaky voice echoed through Maze's phone, bringing Maze's attention directly to the small human's voice instead of the bounty she was currently hired to find. The bounty's body was lying against the wall of a hotel room, writhing in pain. Maze turned around, knife in hand. "Trix? What is it?"

"It's--" Trixie sniffled. "--Mrs. Lebrille." Maze groaned audibly at the mention of Trixie's snobby, stuck-up teacher.

"What'd she do now?" Maze asked calmly.

"We were reading a story about monsters and stuff," Another sniffle. "And I said that all monsters aren't bad and that I had a friend who's a demon and that she's super nice." Maze smiled a bit at Trixie's words. "And then she said that she wanted to talk to my mom and that I'm making things up to get attention. I dunno what to do, Maze." Trixie's voice cracked, and Maze's grip on her knife tightened.

Nobody made her small human cry.

"I'll be there in an hour."

Maze hung up the phone before Trixie could say anything else, turning around to face her bounty who was still lying on the ground. She pointed her knife at him, her eyes shimmering with anger. "I'll deal with you later. Stay put." Of course, this guy wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, what with all the damage she did. Still, she made sure that he was unconscious before she snuck out of the hotel room, locking the door.

-

Maze was at Trixie's school within 45 minutes. When traffic rules didn't apply to you, it was amazing how quickly you could get places.

She slammed her car door, walking to the main gate of the school. She was highly aware of the two knives that she had hidden in her boots as she made her way to the office.

She probably wouldn't need them, but just in case.

"Parent-teacher conference for Beatrice Espinoza." Maze said bluntly, addressing the woman who sat in a large desk. The woman nodded shakily, pressing a few buttons on her laptop before gesturing towards one of the classrooms wordlessly. Maze nodded as a form of thanks, walking briskly to the classroom.

She opened the door. Immediately, she saw her small human sitting at one of the desks, glassy-eyed and tear-stained, and the stoic face of Mrs. Lebrille. Both of their heads snapped towards Maze when she entered the classroom. Maze directed a small nod and a smirk towards Trixie, who responded with a toothy grin. Mrs. Lebrille cleared her throat. "Excuse me, are you Mrs. Decker?"

"It's _Detective_ Decker, and no. Family friend." Maze sat in the desk next to Trixie’s.

“I apologize, but parent-teacher conferences are designed to only be between parent and—” Mrs. Lebrille was interrupted by Maze’s glare. Mrs. Lebrille cleared her throat awkwardly and nodded. “Well, I called this meeting because I wanted to speak to an adult about Ms. Espinoza’s, shall we say, imagination.”

“Uh-huh.” Maze responded dryly.

Mrs. Lebrille swallowed. “See, she has a tendency to tell these stories in class—they prove to be extreme distractions to the other students. Even today, she told this story of how she befriended a _demon_ , of all things.” It took everything inside of Maze not to snarl at her disbelief. “I worry that Ms. Espinoza is purposely doing this so that she can garner the attention of the other students, maybe due to a lack of attention at home.”

Maze put up a finger. “Let me stop you there. I don’t know what you’re insinuating, but let me make one thing clear. This kid—” Maze then pointed at Trixie. “—is a good student. For you to say that she’s being a distraction to the other brats is only showing me that you clearly don’t know how to do your job.” Mrs. Lebrille scoffed, but Maze continued. “Maybe you should spend more time controlling the rest of your students rather than pick on the one kid who actually has a brain in this class.”

Trixie grinned widely as she sat in her seat, and Mrs. Lebrille appeared dumbfounded. Maze glanced at Trixie and gestured with her head for Trixie to leave the room for a minute. The small human did so, giving one last glare to Mrs. Lebrille before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway.

Maze’s attention was directed back at the open-mouthed Mrs. Lebrille. She got up from the desk, taking a step closer to the stuck-up teacher. “Also, a piece of advice? This kid has a lot of people who have her back, so I’d recommend you shut your judgmental mouth before you try shutting her ‘stories’ down. You know, before the ‘demon’ decides she doesn’t want to play so nicely.”

Maze felt half of her face fall away, revealing the skeletal burns that she had only shown Trixie once, long ago. She grinned as Mrs. Lebrille’s face paled in horror, her eyes widening. “Oh my word,” she stuttered. Maze resumed her human form, winked at the teacher, and walked out, leaving Mrs. Lebrille behind as she shook in fear.

Outside in the hallway, Trixie was sitting on one of the benches, waiting for Maze to leave the classroom. Once Trixie spotted her, she smiled again. Maze smirked and held out her hand. “I don’t think she’s going to be bothering you anymore.”

Trixie took her hand and squeezed it, getting up from the bench. “Thanks, Maze.”

“No problem, small human.”

-

And later, when Chloe would come to ask Maze why Trixie’s English teacher called home with such a positive report regarding Trixie’s grades, Maze and Trixie would exchange knowing glances as they sat in the kitchen together.

Trixie needed a rescue, and Maze was more than happy to provide it.

As long as it included knives.


	13. Intimacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 8 of the r/Lucifer fic-vember prompt list. Set in the end of season 1, episode 9; mostly Chloe’s introspection regarding her partner. This one’s a bit shorter than my normal ones but I hope it still suffices. Enjoy! :D

The elevator doors dinged open.

Chloe sighed, then stepped through. Lucifer sat at the piano, playing a melody that Chloe instantly recognized; it was ‘ _Knockin On Heaven’s Door,_ ’ the song that she had walked in on him and Father Frank playing earlier that same week. 

The tune back then had sounded merry, a song between two opposites who had somehow found themselves as friends. A preacher and the Devil. A saint and a sinner. Now, however, the melody that Lucifer played had a twinge of sorrow mixed within the keys of the song. It was somber, a memorial to a man that was truly good in a world filled with all sorts of evils.

Chloe shook off her jacket, folding it in her arms as she walked closer to the piano. Lucifer appeared as though he hadn’t heard the elevator doors open, so Chloe made her way to the piano bench. She smiled at Lucifer, and his surprised expression confirmed her suspicions. “Hi,” she greeted.

She sat down on the bench as Lucifer scooted slightly away from her to give her more space. “A bit late for a new case, isn’t it?” Lucifer questioned, a smile plastered on his face. Chloe felt her heart break slightly knowing that he truly thought she would only come visit for a case and not to see how he was feeling.

“I’m not here for a case.” She shook her head. “I’m here for you.”

His eyes glanced up and down at her as he smirked. “Oh, really?” 

Chloe knew him well enough by now to know that all his advances, his remarks, his ‘devil-may-care' attitude—they served as a mask for him to hide behind. Not to mention the sexual partners that probably went into the _thousands_ that he had been with over the years; so of course, he’d take a genuine statement like ‘I’m here for you’ in a sexual context. 

She huffed out a small laugh. “Yeah. I thought you could use a friend.”

He seemed surprised by this, opening his mouth to say something but then deciding against it. She was willing to be whatever he needed right now. If he needed to vent, or talk, or an idle distraction that didn’t have to do with sex, she was here to provide it.

“Do you play?” he eventually settled on, referring to the piano. She chuckled— _idle distraction it is._

She shook her head. “Mm, no. No, I don’t--”

He nudged her gently with his shoulder. “Come on, you must play something.”

She stared down at the keys, wracking her brain for any previous knowledge that her mother had stuffed into her at a young age. “Alright, well, let me see.” 

She ran through her memories of the terrible piano class that her mother put her in when she was around fourteen. The piano teacher was particularly strict, one of the few things that Chloe remembered from the class. “I had three years of lessons,” she explained as one song finally came to her. “And this is all I remember.”

She plucked the first three notes of Heart and Soul, which prompted a chuckle from Lucifer as he crossed his arms. “Surely, you must be joking.” 

She grinned and shook her head. She replayed the same three notes; _C, C, C_ , just like her teacher taught her. 

Lucifer shook his head, whether from disbelief or shock, Chloe didn’t know. “Alright.” he conceded, settling for playing the harmony on the other side of the piano.

Playing the piano was never considered fun for Chloe, especially in that terrible class. She never saw the appeal of it before. Yet, when she was sitting here alongside Lucifer as they met glances throughout the song, it felt like she was right at home.

Feeling particularly brave, she reached for a glass of untouched whiskey that sat on the top of the piano with her free hand and took a sip from it. Lucifer didn’t seem to mind it at all, which provoked a small voice in the back of Chloe’s head. It whispered quietly, but Chloe tried her hardest to shut out what it was saying.

‘ _Someone has a crush...._ ’


	14. Fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 9 of the r/Lucifer fic-vember prompt list. Missing moments in the end scene of 2x07. The first part is directly before the hugging scene, the second part is directly after. (If that makes any sense.) Enjoy! :D

_Knock, knock._

Lucifer rapped his knuckles against the wooden door of the Detective’s apartment. After a minute with no response, Lucifer knocked again. Still no response.

Deciding it would be irresponsible of him to leave without at least making sure that the Detective was safe inside, Lucifer brought out his duplicate key that he had made shortly after the Detective’s car accident and turned the knob, stepping inside.

“Detective?” he called out. After a brief glance around, he realized that the urchin was sitting by the couch, grinning widely when she saw him come in. His first instinct was to jump back, but the urchin remained seated. “Hello, urchin.” he greeted. “Where might I find your mother?”

“She’s in the kitchen!” she happily chirped, bouncing her feet up and down.

He nodded towards her as thanks before walking towards the kitchen. The Detective was facing away from him, and she appeared to be cooking a sandwich of some kind. The steam from the stove emitted a pleasant smell that made even Lucifer’s hollow stomach grumble.

What got his attention the most, though, was the humming coming from the Detective herself.

Her humming was quiet and soft, but Lucifer could honestly say that it was one of the most beautiful things that he had heard. After all, he had never heard the Detective sing before—not once in the time that he had known her.

‘ _Fly me to the moon, and let me play among the stars,_ ’ she sang. He chuckled to himself—Lucifer never took the Detective as a Sinatra fan. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t know what music she even listened to.

‘ _Let me see what spring is like on, Jupiter and Mars. In other words, hold my hand._ ’ Lucifer felt himself almost entranced, like a siren to a sailor. A smile slowly appeared on his face without his consent. ‘ _In other words, baby, kiss me._ ’

‘ _Fill my heart with song, and let me sing forevermore_.’ The Detective bopped her head slowly to the music coming from her headphones. He could hear the instrumentals faintly. ‘ _You are all I long for, all I worship and adore._ ’

‘ _In other words, please be true. In other words, I love you_.’ She switched back to humming along to the music from this point, flipping the sandwich on the burner. Lucifer remained frozen to the spot, forgetting the world around him. 

The Detective took out one of her earbuds without turning around. “Trix?” she called. “Monkey, breakfast is--” The Detective turned around and jumped, her eyes widening when she realized Lucifer was standing there. “Lucifer?”

Right. He probably wasn’t supposed to be standing there watching her like a stalker. His smile dropped quickly. “Detective!” he greeted calmly.

She cleared her throat. Lucifer didn’t miss the flush that ran through her face. “Uh--” she started.

The urchin ran into the room at that very moment, and it felt like a record audibly scratched. The urchin was rambling about breakfast and her school day activities that she was looking forward to. The Detective immediately directed her attention to the child, smiling as she served the urchin one of her delightfully scented sandwiches. Lucifer had to shake his head to bring himself back to reality.

“Here you go, monkey.” the Detective said, handing the child a plate. Lucifer grabbed the sandwich with a smirk.

He bit into it. “Why should the child go first? I’m far larger. And hungrier.”

-

“It was my dad’s favorite song.”

Lucifer glanced over at the Detective. Her eyes remained puffy and red from crying—which, Lucifer still felt horribly about—but she couldn’t have looked more beautiful either way. “Pardon?”

“Fly Me to the Moon? The song I was singing earlier?”

“Ah.”

She nodded, looking away. “My dad would always play it on this old record that his dad gave him. Whenever he solved a case or if it was a bad day, he’d play that record and it felt like everything would be okay.” Her eyes glazed over, probably lost in memory. She shook her head fondly. “Anyway, I guess all of this made me nostalgic. That’s all.”

The Detective returned her attention to the dirty dishes left behind by her urchin. Lucifer leaned against the counter, putting his hands in his pockets. “Well, for what it’s worth, your father had a good taste in music.” She chuckled. “And although I didn’t expect the impromptu concert, I will say that I’m very glad I didn’t miss it.”

She paused what she was doing and turned her head to face him. A soft smile creeped up on her face. “Liar.”

“Never, Detective.” 


	15. Nightmare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt- Bed Sharing  
> So, considering I basically missed the majority of fic-vember, I’m just going to post from various different prompts from the same list with no chronological order.
> 
> This one is bed-sharing, set somewhere in 5a. Don’t read if you haven’t caught up! Also there’s a tiny reference to my last one-shot, “Fluff” for day 14. I suggest reading that one first!
> 
> Enjoy! :D

_‘I have to go back.’_

_‘My first love was never Eve. It was you, Chloe. It always has been.’_

Then, a kiss. Then-- _‘Goodbye.’_

Then a ruffle of feathers.

And then nothing at all.

-

Chloe woke up, her heart racing. Her lungs heaved with panic, and it took her a moment to gather her bearings. She had to force herself to remember that Lucifer wasn’t gone. Not anymore. He laid right next to her in their own haven, their own comfort bubble that was his penthouse.

She took a breath. Then another. Then another.

She blinked back tears that threatened to spill as she reminded herself that he wasn’t gone. He wasn’t in Hell. He was _right there_ , sleeping peacefully beside her. Chloe considered waking him up, even if only to reassure herself that he was truly there and not a figment of her own imagination. 

Before she could do that though, Lucifer turned in his sleep, snaking his arm around her waist. She kept her back to him, quickly reminding herself that waking him up wasn’t necessary and that it was a silly nightmare.

“D’tective?” he mumbled sleepily.

Her breathing was still uneven, so pretending to be asleep wasn’t exactly an option. “I’m fine, Lucifer. Go back to sleep.” She mentally cursed herself when her voice wavered.

There was silence for a few moments, so Chloe thought he had gone back to sleep when he rustled in the sheets once more. “You’ve been crying.” he murmured. It sounded like he was more awake now, although he still sounded drowsy.

“Go back to sleep,” she repeated.

He was quiet again, then slowly rose a bit to kiss her shoulder. “What’s wrong, darling?”

Chloe considered shutting him down, to respond with another ‘I’m fine,’ and ‘go back to sleep,’ but Lucifer was his own detective. He knew something was up. She sighed instead, turning around to face him. She looked into his dark eyes for a moment, contemplating, and then buried herself in his chest, wrapping her arm around him.

“I had a nightmare.” she mumbled.

He started running his fingers through her hair. It was strangely soothing, so much so that she was already halfway asleep when he spoke next. “What was it?”

“You left again.”

He exhaled, mindlessly playing with Chloe’s hair. It was funny, really, how three words could have so much meaning behind them. Chloe never blamed him for leaving to resume his reign over Hell. No, it was never his fault. It was terrible circumstance that put him there. Now, they were together and happy for what felt like the first time in ages.

Still, the pain of that memory, of standing on that balcony alone with tear-stained cheeks, it lingered in the back of Chloe’s mind. And sometimes, just sometimes, that memory produced one of these horridly vivid nightmares.

Lucifer looked down, using his hand to lift Chloe’s chin so that their eyes would meet. “I’m not leaving you again, Detective. Not even if my Father came down here himself to tell me so.”

The corners of her mouth tilted upwards in a weak smile. “I know.”

He pulled her in close again, so Chloe could almost hear his heartbeat. 

Then, he started humming. It only took her a moment to recognize the tune—Fly Me to the Moon. She couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her face. She couldn’t believe that he remembered what she told him, so long ago. 

She closed her eyes and sighed contently, feeling completely safe. Lucifer was nothing if not a man of his word, so when he told her that he wouldn’t leave again, she believed him. Whatever would come, they’d fight together.

And there, in their own personal safe haven, the two laid in comfort, the only audible sound being Lucifer’s humming. Chloe felt herself drift off into sleep, where she would have no more nightmares for the rest of the night.


	16. Tidal Wave//Deckerstar One-Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Ocean  
> This one-shot takes place in season three. Established Pecker, Lucifer introspection. Enjoy!
> 
> Note: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my one-shots. Really, I love sharing them with all of you, and I appreciate every one of you for taking time out of your day to read my things. Thank you so much!! <33\. 
> 
> Also, I’d like to announce that I’m currently working on a multi-chapter fanfiction, dealing with time travel as the main theme (currently untitled!!). I don’t want to spoil too much, but if there’s long spaces in between one-shot posts, that’s the reason why.

Lucifer looked out to the sea.

He had always found the ocean to be a beautiful creation—one of the few things that he would actually credit his father for making. The bright blue of the waves as they crashed towards his feet, then receded, drifting off to places unknown as creatures of the sea danced on the ocean floor. It was truly beautiful.

When Lucifer had come up from Hell five years ago, he had landed on the beach. It was there that he had Mazikeen cut off his wings, simultaneously cutting off his ties with his Father and the Silver City. It was also on the beach that he had burned them, prompting a fight with his older brother. Of course, the bloody things had grown back multiple times in the last few weeks, but the vivid memories remained in his mind. One would think that going through such painful things would ruin Lucifer’s love for the ocean, but it only brought him a sense of nostalgia.

The few times that Lucifer escaped from Hell throughout the years, he’d always try and make time to visit the ocean at least once before he was forced back into the ashy pits of fire and torture. Not that he didn’t enjoy such things, but the calm and quiet of the ocean had its own appeal. Now that he was on Earth for good, he wanted to take advantage of the beautiful sights when he had the chance.

The beach was also where he and the Detective had kissed for the first time.

Now, that memory—that was one he found himself replaying in his mind. Especially lately, ever since the Detective had begun dating the world’s first murderer—Cain. 

He found himself wondering silly thoughts, late at night, when he should’ve been enjoying the luxuries of being the world’s most notorious playboy. Instead of delving into a glorious sexual escapade filled with women and men alike, he spent his nights alone, wondering what he should’ve done differently when it came to the Detective.

Hindsight was a powerful kick in the ‘no-no-touch-touch-square,’ as the Detective’s urchin would call it. Realizing what he had before he lost her felt like a stab to the chest. What the Detective did to salvage Lux before it could be torn down, testifying that Lucifer was not a liar in court, even knowing what it would do to the case. Defending him, keeping him as a partner, quirks and ‘Lucifer-ness’ included.

Maybe he shouldn’t have left to Las Vegas.

Maybe he shouldn’t have gotten married, even with the intentions of protecting her.

Maybe they would’ve figured it out as partners, rather than Lucifer making the choice for both of them.

Maybe the Detective wouldn’t have walked right into Cain’s arms.

Maybe, maybe—

“Hey. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

The Detective’s voice brought Lucifer back to reality. He blinked, clearing his throat. They had been there for another case—a body had dropped nearby the beach, so the Detective went to question the family members while he stayed behind. She had most likely finished while Lucifer was buried in his own thoughts.

“Well, you found me,” he answered with a chuckle, unwittingly referencing to the last time they were at the beach together. The Detective walked closer so that she was standing next to him as the two stared out at the ocean.

There was a beat of silence.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked.

He glanced at her, then back at the tides. “Yes, it is.” He was unsure if his answer referred to the ocean or to the woman standing next to him—he was momentarily grateful that she didn’t ask for the clarification.

“I always wanted to live by the ocean.” The Detective chuckled, as though she were lost in a memory. “It was too far from any of the good schools for Trixie, and the commute would’ve been too difficult to deal with, but I loved visiting as a kid.”

He noncommittally hummed in response. “I’ve always been fascinated with the ocean. And the memories that came along with it, I suppose.”

Lucifer hadn’t realized that he stuck his foot in his mouth until a few minutes after, when he thought through what he had just said. His face blanched as he glanced at the Detective, hoping that she hadn’t noticed his obvious slip-up.

But, of course, the Detective being a detective, knew exactly what he was referring to.

She turned towards him and softly smiled. “The last time that we were here, things were a lot different, huh?”

He nodded slightly, not trusting his voice, as he turned to face her. The last thing he wanted was to portray himself as a love-stricken teenager listening to Adele on repeat after being rejected, but he couldn’t exactly lie to her.

“Look, Lucifer, I know you’re not one-hundred percent on board with this whole me-and-Marcus thing. And I get it, okay? But I don’t want my personal life to get in the way of our partnership.” She sighed, looking out to the ocean, then back at Lucifer. “Like I’ve said, you make me a better detective, and I don’t want you running away just because I’m with someone. So, just—work with me, yeah?”

He blinked at her for a moment. She still wanted him there, working by her side. She was _choosing_ to keep him around. Maybe, just _maybe_ , that meant—

Well, he wasn’t sure what that meant.

But she was right—no more running.

He smirked at her. “Of course, Detective.” They were three simple words, but they conveyed all that they needed to. She turned to walk away. Before she could get too far, Lucifer called out to her. “And you still need the eggs?”

“Damn right, I do.” she called over her shoulder, not missing a beat.

He chuckled, casting his glance back towards the bright, blue, unwavering ocean. In a moment of reflection, he realized one more tiny detail that had been lingering in his brain.

The determined, receding and returning tides of the waves. The blue reflections of a sunset that you could get lost in. The shimmering gleam of the bright ocean. Perhaps there was a small correlation between the ocean and the bright-eyed, determined Detective.

And in a small moment of reflection, Lucifer thought—maybe, that’s a partial reason as to why he loved the ocean so much.

Shaking his head, scoffing at himself, Lucifer threw his jacket over his shoulder and began walking away, listening to the music of the receding tides as he left the beautiful sights, the glittering sun coming down behind him.


	17. Christmas Eve Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holidays to everyone celebrating!! Y’all knew I couldn’t /not/ take the opportunity to write a holiday-themed one-shot. 
> 
> This one takes place at some point after 3x06, featuring Chloe’s mom, Penelope.
> 
> Enjoy, and have a safe and happy holiday! :D

Chloe hated the holidays.

It wasn't the loud Christmas music that blasted in almost every store that Chloe visited from November to January. It wasn't the annual ritual of having to hand her daughter off to some sweaty Santa lookalike for what felt like the longest five minutes of Chloe's life. 

Hell, it wasn't even the fifty-meter-long lines that she had to stand through while buying Christmas presents for her entire family.

No, all of that, she could tolerate.

“Pumpkin!”

Chloe groaned. _This_ is why she hated the holidays. The annual Christmas Eve Mother-Daughter- _Dan_ -Dinner that Chloe’s mother forced her into every single year.

“Pumpkin,” Penelope whisper-shouted from the other side of the restaurant. “Over here.”

Chloe faked a smile and made her way across the restaurant. She mentally cursed herself for deciding to go to this dinner wearing a dress—it felt like she was completely out of her element. At least, if she had her jeans and blazers, she’d feel more like a respectable detective who knew her own worth and less like a fifteen-year-old trying to impress her mother.

She sighed. Some things never changed. 

When she made her way to her mother’s table, she sat down awkwardly. “Hey, Mom.”

Penelope scanned her up and down, only bringing out Chloe’s insecurities further. “I see that you went with a dress this year. I wish you’d wear feminine clothes more often! Brings out your inner pageant queen.”

“I’m a detective, Mom. Can’t exactly wear dresses on the job.”

Penelope huffed and looked down at the menu. “I see that Dan couldn’t make it,” she muttered, not looking up.

Chloe held back an eye-roll, clearing her throat. “I told you, unless Trixie was involved, Dan isn’t going to be a part of these dinners anymore. We’re _divorced._ ” 

“Yes, yes, I know.” She waved Chloe off dismissively, making anger bubble up in Chloe’s stomach. She forced it down, studying her own menu. This was going to be a long night.

-

“Mom, we talked about this. I don’t understand why—”

“Pumpkin, I only want the best for you!”

“And how is _that_ wanting the best for me?!”

“Well, _maybe_ if you listened to me more—”

“That’s all I do, Mom!”

Chloe sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was painfully aware of the customers that were surrounding their table, and the pitying looks that she had been receiving throughout the night. She took a breath and excused herself, standing up abruptly from the table and making her way to the bathroom.

Once she had made her way into the empty bathroom, she went into one of the stalls, closing the door behind her. That’s when she felt angry tears threatening to escape her eyes.

She wiped them away furiously, knowing that she shouldn’t let her mother affect her like this. It happened every year, and Chloe knew her own worth—she was a badass detective with one hell of a solve rate. She was a single mother taking care of an eight-year-old, and she thought she did pretty damn good of a job.

And yet, whenever she faced her mother, Penelope managed to pick out every single flaw within her and make Chloe feel like a measly ant compared to the rest of the world.

Chloe found herself with her hands buried in her face, sitting alone in the grimy stall. She’d prefer to be home with Trixie, reading her a bedtime story. She’d prefer being in the middle of a case. Hell, she’d even prefer being with Lucifer at this point—

It hit her.

She didn’t have Dan to back her up against Penelope, not anymore. And yes, things weren’t the best between Chloe and Lucifer. They’d patched things up—Chloe fiddled with the bullet necklace around her neck subconsciously—but Chloe still had those inconvenient feelings for him that Lucifer clearly didn’t return, which made things that much more difficult. Still, she didn’t see another option.

With a shaky hand, Chloe sniffled and dialed his number.

“ _Detective!_ ” he greeted cheerily.

“Lucifer, hey.” She had tried to match his enthusiasm, but it clearly didn’t fool Lucifer.

“ _What’s wrong, Detective?_ ”

“Nothing.” Did her voice really sound that small? “Nothing, it’s just—I'm stuck at this dinner with my mom.”

“ _Penelope? What did she say to you?_ ”

Chloe chuckled in mock-nonchalance. “Oh, just pointed out every single flaw that I’ve ever had. No biggie.” Chloe shook her head, feeling silly. “Look, I just wanted to ask if maybe you’d come here as my backup? It’s a stupid ask, I know, and you probably have better things to do with your time, so—”

“ _Detective, I can guarantee you, there’s nothing else I’d rather do at this moment than provide as your ‘backup._ ’”

Chloe had to consciously force down the smile forming on her face. “I’ll text you the address.”

“ _I’m already on my way._ ”

She hung up the phone, sending Lucifer the address quickly. She shut off her phone, glancing around at her surroundings. Chloe realized she was still sitting in this dirty stall and chuckled at herself.

Strangely enough, it felt like a weight had been lifted knowing that she wouldn’t have to face her mother alone for much longer.

Chloe stood up and smoothed down her dress, opening the stall door and looking at her appearance through one of the mirrors as she washed her hands. She took a few minutes, maybe five, maybe seven, to bring her thoughts together. At least none of her mascara had started running and her hair was still decently combed. Feeling a tad bit more confident, she made her way out of the bathroom and back to the table where her mother was sitting, her expectant eyes waiting.

Chloe sighed as she sat down. “Mom,” she nodded.

“Are you finished yelling at me now?” Penelope questioned. Chloe bit back a laugh—as if _she_ was the victim. Before she could respond, however, the door opened with a ding.

Chloe glanced over at the door. Lucifer was making his entrance, and several of the surrounding customers fawned over him as he spotted Chloe and her mother, grinning as soon as his eyes met Chloe’s. She couldn’t help but smile in return.

Penelope stood up, arms open, to greet him. “Lucifer! What a surprise!”

“Penelope, looking lovely as always,” he complimented. Ever the gentleman, Lucifer took Penelope’s hand and kissed it.

“Oh, you’re too kind. Please, do sit with us!” Penelope walked towards one of the waiters, presumably asking for another chair at the table. While she was distracted, Chloe casted her glance towards Lucifer.

“Thanks for getting here so fast. I know it was really short notice, but I couldn’t exactly deal with her alone anymore.” Chloe said, pointing her head towards Penelope’s direction.

“It was no problem at all, Detective. And might I say, you do look stunning.”

Chloe became all too aware of the dress that she still had on, her insecurities rearing their ugly heads once more. She decided to play it off as one of his flirtations. “My mom’s over there, Lucifer. The compliments aren’t necessary with me.”

“Have you ever known me to lie?” She raised an eyebrow, and Lucifer opened his mouth to say more but was quickly interrupted by Penelope’s arrival.

Penelope made her way back to the table with a waiter following behind her, chair in hand. The waiter—who had probably been traumatized by Penelope’s theatrics, with the way his face blanched—placed the chair on the floor and briskly walked back.

“Sit!” Penelope held out an arm with a large grin. 

He did sit, of course, but Chloe rolled her eyes. “Mom, he’s not a dog.”

“I’m aware of that, Chloe. I’m just being kind to our guest. Something you could learn, perhaps,” she trailed off as she took a sip from her glass.

Chloe grumbled in her seat. Lucifer cleared his throat. “I can assure you, Penelope, the detective is very kind to those who _deserve_ said kindness.” The formality of his voice was so distracting that Chloe barely noticed the hint of shade in Lucifer’s words. Penelope blinked at him, confused, then continued drinking from her wineglass, clearly befuddled.

Chloe hid a smile behind her sleeve, which Lucifer noticed because _of course_ , he did. He winked at Chloe before studying his own menu. Those inconvenient feelings bubbled up again in Chloe’s stomach, but she forced it down, focusing her attention on other things—namely, how she was going to make it through the rest of this dinner alive.

-

About forty-five minutes later, Chloe had been pleasantly surprised.

Having Lucifer there proved to make the time go by much quicker. Penelope still threw in her demeaning comments about almost anything she could—Dan, Trixie’s education, Chloe’s job, her clothing, personality, attitude, etcetera. Still, every time that Chloe seemed to be uncomfortable or somber, Lucifer immediately changed the subject or threw it back in Penelope’s face in his own polite and formal way. It was comical, really, but Chloe appreciated the effort he was putting into it.

Finally, when the food was eaten and Chloe was about ready to make a run for it, Penelope sighed loudly. “Well, this has been interesting.”

“That’s definitely a word for it, Mom.” Chloe muttered, taking a sip from her wine. 

“I’m hoping you’ll join us tomorrow for Christmas, Lucifer?” Penelope said, directing her glance towards Lucifer.

“Mom, I’m sure he doesn’t want to—”

“Why, of course! I would never turn down two lovely Decker ladies for an evening.” Lucifer had turned up the charm to eleven, and of course, Penelope had fallen for it, hook, line, and sinker.

“Wonderful! Then I’ll see you in the car, Chloe?” Penelope smiled, gracefully getting up from her seat. Chloe nodded, ready to agree to almost anything to get this over with quicker. Penelope nodded in Lucifer’s direction, then left the restaurant.

It felt like Chloe could finally breathe. She exhaled exasperatedly, which prompted Lucifer to chuckle. Chloe glared at him. “Is this funny to you?” she asked dryly.

“Just a smidge.”

Chloe glanced at him with warm eyes. “You know you don’t actually have to show up tomorrow, right? She’ll probably forget—actually, scratch that, she never forgets anything. But I can always make up an excuse or something. It’ll just be opening presents and all that, which I imagine isn’t your ‘scene.’” Chloe used air quotes.

Lucifer glanced at his drink, then back at Chloe. “Detective, we’re partners, yes?”

“Uh, yes?”

“Truly, you don’t think I’m so blind as to have not realized, as lovely as your mother may be, she took almost _every_ opportunity she had available to her in order to put you down?”

“Right, but—”

“Partners don’t leave each other behind to face scrutiny, Detective.” He smiled warmly. “ _Unless_ one of them gets married in Vegas in a litany of rash decisions, in which case, I believe you have the full right to punch said partner in the face.”

Chloe froze. _Was that Lucifer’s version of an apology?_ Those feelings bubbled up again tenfold, but she pushed it down and snickered. “I don’t think anybody needs to get punched in the face, Lucifer.”

“That’s a relief. This _is_ my moneymaker, after all. If you’re not counting—”

“Lucifer.”

Lucifer groaned. “Fine, fine.”

Chloe chuckled, prompting him to do the same. She took a breath, then put down her glass. “Thank you. For showing up so quickly and helping me out. Really, I know that things have been—well, weird, to say the least. So, thank you.”

He froze momentarily as he always did when she thanked him so carelessly. Chloe considered saying more, but was cut off by the sound of the door opening. “Pumpkin, let’s go!” Penelope called. 

Chloe rolled her eyes knowing that she’d have to drive her mother home, then stood up, smoothing out her dress. Then, in what felt like the most turnabout _‘probably-entered-the-twilight-realm'_ occurrence, Lucifer got up and pulled her into a hug. She was the one who froze this time, unsure of what to do with her limbs until her brain kicked in. She hugged him back—she forgot how nice these rare hugs were—when she heard him mumble, “None of what Penelope said about you is true. Please remember that.”

When they pulled away, Lucifer smiled, a soft and reserved smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, Detective?”

Feelings, those inconvenient bubbles in her stomach. Oh, how she hated them.

“Yeah,” she responded, a bit breathless. “Tomorrow.”

Chloe turned around wordlessly and made her way to the door, ignoring her mother’s knowing stare. As the two left the restaurant and got in their car in silence, Penelope glanced at Chloe. “You know, maybe Dan doesn’t _have_ to be a part of our dinners anymore.” 

_We can bring Lucifer instead_ , were the words that remained unsaid.

Chloe chuckled dryly. “Mom, for once, I just might agree with you.”


	18. New Normal//Deckerstar One-Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place in early S4, somewhere between 4x03 and 4x04. (Basically, just imagine Eve hasn't come into the picture yet.) Strays from canon. Enjoy! :D
> 
> Note: 200 kudos??!?! *cleans glasses*  
> Thank you all so much for reading and commenting. Seriously, I appreciate all of you. <33

Chloe was exhausted.

She and Dan had gotten mixed up in a new case that wasn’t as open-and-shut as they originally thought. It made Palmetto Street look like a child’s television show compared to this case. Chloe found herself turning around and asking for Lucifer's input more times than she would've liked to admit, but she was stuck with Dan for the time being. 

It wasn't as though things between her and Dan were bad—they worked well together, given the circumstances. But Dan was still dealing with the grief of losing Charlotte, which made him much more reckless than usual, while Chloe, well—she was dealing with the loss of her partner.

Chloe and Dan had tracked down one of the suspects after weeks of hour-long stakeouts. It had been a long, grueling process, and now they were finally ready to take the suspect into custody. All they had to do now was wait for him to leave the building that Chloe and Dan were waiting outside of.

Chloe drummed her fingers against the side of the car door, feeling the faint breeze of the air conditioning hit her face. Her foot had fallen asleep, and the car was far from comfortable, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was take this bastard into custody so he'd get what he deserved. 

Dan stirred beside her, and in a moment of temporary insanity and exhaustion, she thought it was Lucifer by her side. A quick glance proved her wrong, and she rubbed her eyes tiredly. She really did need to sleep.

"You okay?"

Chloe jumped at the sudden voice echoing within the car. She looked over at Dan—his eyes were dark, his face weary with time and grief. She sighed, looking away. “Not really.”

He chuckled mirthlessly. “Yeah. I get that.”

Chloe winced. “Sorry. That was insensitive.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Dan tapped his foot against the car floor impatiently. There was a beat where Chloe didn’t think he was going to say anything else. Then, he cleared his throat. “Not that I _want_ him back—seriously, I prefer him gone—” Dan started, his voice dripping with venom. He took a breath to calm himself. “But what happened with you two?”

Chloe didn’t have to ask who Dan was referring to. After all, her mind had been spinning the last few weeks with constant _could’ves_ and _should’ves_ when it came to her former partner. “I did something. Something bad.”

“It couldn’t have been _that_ bad. The guy’s followed you like a puppy for years.” Chloe chuckled, glancing at the door that the suspect was supposed to come out of. “Weren’t you guys—I don’t know, figuring things out?”

Chloe nodded. “Yeah, I guess we were.” 

She closed her eyes, and for a moment, could see exactly where she had gone wrong. She could see Lucifer’s pained expression when she had told him that she didn’t know if she could accept him for all that he is. 

She forced the image away, clearing her throat as if it would take away her problems. “It's over now, and I can't exactly take anything back, so…that's that.”

Dan nodded slowly. “He'll come back, Chloe. I hate the guy, and I still think you deserve better than that pesky son of a—”

“Dan.”

He took a breath. “He always comes back to you eventually. If there's one thing you can count on, it's that.”

Chloe opened her mouth to respond when she saw movement at the front door of the building. She recognized the suspect right away. Desperate to take the attention away from her own issues, she opened the car door.

“LAPD. Freeze!” she yelled out.

Of course, the suspect made a run for it. 

Chloe could feel the exhaustion in her bones, but she forced it away as she ran after him, her legs pumping with effort. “I said _freeze!”_

Soon enough, the suspect had run himself into an empty alleyway. Chloe had managed to bring out her gun, keeping it pointed towards the ground. “Turn around slowly, hands behind your head!”

Chloe blinked, and within seconds, the suspect turned around. The last thing she heard was Dan screaming out for her when she saw a brief glimmer of silver from the suspect’s hands.

And then everything went black.

-

The first thing that Chloe noticed was the beeping of a monitor.

Chloe blinked lazily as her surroundings came into focus. She was back in a hospital bed, recognizing that the beeping was coming from the machines next to her. She groaned slightly as the lulling pain in her hip called her attention. She closed her eyes, the fluorescent lights shining too brightly for her.

As her memories returned to her, she realized that she had gotten shot— _again._

Her exhaustion had clearly gotten to her, seeing as though her reflexes were slower than normal. In regular circumstances, she would’ve seen something like that coming and would’ve avoided it accordingly. She had let her guard down.

 _Next time_ , she swore, _there won’t be a next time. I can’t leave Trixie alone._

Chloe opened her eyes and rolled her head to the side lazily when her heart stopped in its tracks. The very last person she had expected to be there had his head laying on her hospital bed, his regularly ironed Armani suit wrinkled and creased. 

Lucifer was snoring quietly—he had probably fallen asleep while she was out. Chloe, who felt like time had stopped altogether, examined him. His hair, normally fixed with product, was unruly and curled, and his hand was stretched out almost to meet hers. Hospital chairs were extremely uncomfortable, Chloe knew, and yet he was laying here. _Why?_

Lucifer stirred, opening his eyes slowly. They widened as they met hers, as Chloe realized it was probably not the best idea to be staring at him like a zoo animal—especially after all that they’d been through. He straightened himself so that he was sitting upright in his chair.

 _‘He always comes back to you eventually,’_ Dan’s voice echoed in Chloe’s mind.

“Detective,” he greeted warily, as though he was just as confused as she was. “You’re awake.”

“Yeah,” she chuckled. “You—you’re here.”

Lucifer glanced around the room, then met her eyes again. “I suppose I should get going, then—” he rambled as he gathered his things to leave the room. In a moment of courage, she held out her hand to grab his arm, stopping him.

“Wait—stay. Please.” He eyed her before slowly sitting back down. Chloe breathed a sigh of relief, fiddling with her hands. “What happened?”

“Daniel called me. Some _vermin_ made the terrible decision to shoot you and put you here. Needless to say, he’s been properly dealt with.” His tone should’ve brought chills down Chloe’s spine, but it didn’t. She only felt safe with him around. 

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows. “Dan--is he okay?”

“Upset, but yes, he’s fine, all things considered.” His eyes flickered towards hers. “He’ll be better when he learns that you’re okay.”

She nodded slowly. Now that she had that mental storm sorted out, it was time to move onto the next one—Lucifer was here. In her hospital room. _After everything, how, why...?_

“Why are you here?” Chloe asked quietly.

“I can leave, if you’d like me to.” He didn’t speak in a rude or demeaning tone, instead sounding more wary and cautious of her own comfort. It both shocked and confused her.

“No, no, I don’t want you to go. I just—after everything, I figured....” she trailed off. At his confused look, Chloe gestured lazily, looking for words. “After what happened with the poison. I thought you’d just make a run for it and never want to see me again.”

He blinked at her as though she’d just said she had scientific proof that the earth was flat. After a beat, he scoffed. “You thought that I’d hear about the shooting and what, brush it off as nothing?” She didn’t have a response. “Detective, I understand your perspective of me has changed drastically, but do you really think so little of me?”

“I just thought—”

“This shooting could’ve proved to be much, much worse. And you think I care so little that I’d hear of this and leave you to die? You think that some mere poison, Hell or no, would change anything? That it would make a _difference_ to me?”

The hospital room dropped into silence. Chloe glanced down, unsure of what to do with the several emotions running through her system simultaneously. Lucifer cleared his throat awkwardly as he brought his words together.

“I understand if you’re scared of me, Detective.” He offered, his voice dropping towards disappointment. “If you never wish to see me again, I’ll make sure we don’t cross paths. I don’t want to intrude or make you frightened.”

Chloe felt her heart beat quicker. No, she didn’t want Lucifer to go. That was the opposite of what she wanted. “I’m not scared of you.”

His eyes widened at her sudden declaration. Chloe wasn’t ready to have this conversation, not nearly so soon, but the opportunity was presented to her and she had to take it before the courage drained from her entirely. 

“When I found out who you are, I was terrified, yes. But it wasn’t of you—it was of everything that learning that meant. It meant everything I’d heard my whole life; Heaven, Hell, angels, demons. They all exist. No doubts allowed.” Chloe chuckled. “And Kinley, he got into my head. He told me all of these things that I _knew_ weren’t true, but I was...well, weak. And I betrayed your trust.”

Chloe tried sitting up, but a pain in her hip seared, causing her to groan. He rushed forward to help her back down—something she realized far later. She took a breath, taking a mental note that she would definitely need time off from work for a short while. “What I’m trying to say is, _I_ understand if you never want to see me again.”

Lucifer put his hands in his pockets and shook his head fondly. “Well, it seems as though we’re at a standstill, Detective. Both of us are offering the same thing, and yet—it feels as though neither of us really wants to stay away.”

Chloe glanced down, then back at him. “How about a deal?”

“A deal with the Devil?” He smirked, and it almost felt like they were back to normal. “Consider me intrigued.”

“Maybe we can just try to get back to some semblance of our normal. Whatever that may mean. And if either of us want to back out at any time, we have the full right to do so, no questions asked.”

He nodded slowly. “Our normal. Whatever that may mean.” Lucifer took a step closer to the hospital bed. “We have a deal, Detective.” He held out his hand, which she reached out for. Instead of a normal handshake, he caressed the side of her hand with his thumb softly. His eyes flickered towards her, and for a moment, he looked youthful—the same energetic, passionate Lucifer that she had known for years.

The pain in her hip returned, prompting Chloe to wince, ruining the moment. He stepped back, looking towards the door. “I’ll go tell one of the nurses that you’re awake, Detective.”

She nodded, holding her hand to the spot in her hip. Before he reached the door, she called out to him. “You’ll be back, right? This isn’t a repeat of Vegas?”

He snickered. “I’ll be back soon. I’m nothing if not a Devil of my word.” Lucifer winked, turning back around to the door. “I’m glad we’re back, Detective.” 

With that, he opened the door and stepped out, presumably to find a nurse. A soft smile found its way to Chloe’s lips as she sat alone in the hospital room.

“Me too,” she whispered in solitude.


	19. Domestic//Deckerstar One-Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place post 5x08. After a certain 'detective-napping,' Lucifer plots as to how he can protect Chloe and comes up with a solution. Unfortunately, he's extremely nervous about it. Enjoy!

It was simple. Lucifer had failed.

He only had one job to do, and that was to protect the Detective, no matter what. 

He had been doing that job since the day they met, if he was being honest with himself. 

He’d gotten shot for her, a paper airplane being the only thing to distract a man that had gone mad, allowing her to make her escape. Malcolm had put her and her offspring in danger, and that was something he would not allow. Looking back, he could remember the shock of feeling the bullet enter his system, and only fearing for the Detective’s safety instead of his own.

He’d gone through the flames of Hell to get a formula written by a depraved professor looking to prove a point to the world by seeping poison into his victims—one of which became the Detective. He remembered his sense of failure then, too; that moment where he had almost given into his own loop of guilt, driving a knife into his brother, time and time again.

He’d used the wings that he so despised, a mocking gift given to him by his Father, no doubt. He’d shielded her with them, the bullets surrounding them with no mercy. But he couldn’t think about that, not then. He didn’t think about the utter sense of betrayal from the first murderer, or his own sense of self-preservation. No, all he could think about was the Detective’s limp body in his arms as he cried out, the failure seeping back into his heart. 

(Thinking back, he had never felt a higher sense of relief when he realized that his clever Detective came prepared with a bulletproof vest.)

He’d revealed his true form, all of it, to scare off his pesky little demons who had come to overthrow him. He’d roared, all of his pain and sorrow and heartbreak thrown into one strong ‘enough,’ so that he could protect her from them. From him, really.

He’d gone _back_ to Hell to save her from the prophecy, to save everyone that he’d grown to care for. He’d resumed the throne, watching over Hell day after day, year after year, century after century, with his mind only replaying memories of her. The need to leave, to make sure that she was okay, to be with the woman who loved him and who he loved in return, blared in his mind at every moment of the day. He had pushed it down, deciding to be selfless for what could’ve been the first time in millennia.

All of these acts, all of these memories, Lucifer never regretted. He’d do them all over again if he had to, and he’d do more if the situation called for it. But he couldn’t lie, not even to himself—not here, not now.

He had failed her.

The Detective was kidnapped, taken away by his annoyance of a twin brother, of all people. Who knows what she had gone through, what emotional manipulation she must have heard? And if Michael had dared to lay his hands on her—Lucifer gripped his glass hard enough to break it at the mere thought of that.

If he hadn’t been so involved with getting revenge on Detective Douche, if only he had looked at his phone, if only he had been there that night, if only he had helped her, if only—

His memories ran towards the storage room—when the Detective looked at him with tears in her eyes and pure vulnerability, asking why he hadn’t said the words. He hadn’t even asked himself that question—not that he hadn’t thought about it, of course. He did love her. 

He loved her more than words could say. He’d die or kill for her—which, looking back, he’d actually done both—but he didn’t even think about saying the words. In his mind, it was an internal, ‘ _Hey! Of course, I am in love with you, but I thought it was so obvious that I didn’t have to exactly say it.’_ And then, when it came to actually saying the words, he had faltered.

_Why?_

She wished to hear the words, and he wished to say them, but he was having such trouble doing just that. Linda might’ve been helpful in this situation, but she had been so busy with baby Charlie that she hadn’t been available lately.

Of course, time had frozen and one of the biggest celestial battles ensued quickly after that—which led to the arrival of his Father, the bloody award-winner for Worst Timing Ever. The Detective hadn’t mentioned their storage room conversation after that, but it was just another clear example of how he had failed her yet again.

So, how could he fix it?

Lucifer paced. He drank. He paced again. He drank some more. This repeated for a few more hours as Lucifer brainstormed on the floors of his penthouse, ideas circling his brain.

He could hire one of the Hellhounds from Hell to stand guard. Although, now that he thought about it, the Hellhound would have to be trained, and the Detective _probably_ wouldn’t appreciate having a large beast following her around the precinct.

He could also ask Amenadiel to watch over her, but the idea of yet another brother keeping tabs on the Detective was less than appealing.

As he continued to plot, a ding echoed from his phone, signaling a text. He rushed to the phone quickly in the case of another emergency.

 **Detective (8:34 p.m.):** _hey, I left something at the penthouse. swinging by to get it._

He let out a sigh of relief, sending a quick text in response. He dropped the phone on the table and got a drink from the bar. He poured two glasses, aware that the offspring was with her father this weekend. 

If he was lucky, maybe he could convince her to stay for the night. A fleeting thought passed by where he chuckled at the idea of having her stay at his penthouse for good. It’d be awfully domestic, really. Her, living at his home. What an idea.

That’s when it struck him like a bolt of lightning.

That was it.

That was the perfect plan! What better way to protect her than to live with the Devil? He wouldn’t even mind having the offspring there for whatever amount of time that the Detective had custody over her. It was a fantastic idea, and he mentally patted himself on the back for it.

Making his way back to the phone, he saw another text come in.

 **Detective (8:37 p.m.):** _alright I'm here, on my way up_

Without warning, a pang of nervousness hit Lucifer’s stomach. It was like butterflies, except if butterflies had claws and were vicious little buggers. 

What if she didn’t want to move in? What if the ‘I-love-you' mix-up had made her want to back out? After all, why would she want to be in a real relationship with him, the Devil? Maybe her saying ‘I love you’ was temporary insanity? Should he call Linda?

The elevator doors dinged open, a familiar flash of blonde greeting Lucifer’s eyes. The Detective smiled, walking out. “Hey.”

“Detective! Hello.” Lucifer responded, feigning nonchalance as he handed her one of the drinks in his hand. 

She raised an eyebrow, seeing through him immediately. “What happened?”

“...nothing?”

“Then why do you look like you were just caught doing something wrong?”

“I assure you, I was doing nothing wrong. Well, at this moment. If you’re asking about things I’ve done wrong in general, well, that’s up to personal opinion, but—”

“Lucifer.”

“Detective?”

She groaned, putting down her purse on the couch and gently reaching for his hands. “Lucifer, whatever’s going on, you know you can tell me, right? I'm here to help. Always.” She looked at him with such earnest that he had to take a moment to bring himself together.

He glanced away from her for a moment, then met her eyes again. “I’ve been—thinking.”

“Okay?”

“With this recent case of ‘Detective-napping,’ no thanks to my admittedly handsome twin--” she rolled her eyes, a tiny smile on her lips. “--that perhaps, there would be a way to protect you from further offenses of anyone in my family or otherwise.” He took a breath, the nervousness hitting him. “And that perhaps, there was a solution.”

“And that is?” she coaxed. He knew that it was like pulling teeth to get anything out of him, so he was momentarily grateful for the Detective baring with him for the time being.

“If possible, you may or may not would like to move in here? In this penthouse?” Her eyes widened in shock. “Of course, you don’t _have_ to, that’s another option all on its own. But if you wanted to, then you could bring your things and just leave them here, and I could set something up for the offspring on the days that you must take care of her, and it would make things easier for game nights so that neither of us would have to travel a considerable distance, and that’s not including the gas that I’d imagine you would save when we have cases, of course—” he blabbered, not noticing the smile forming on the Detective’s face. 

He also didn’t notice her slowly leaning in, until their lips met, effectively shutting him up. The kiss was soft and sweet, similar to their first kiss on the beach. She pulled away, a flush in her cheeks. “You had me at ‘move in.’”

Lucifer cleared his throat awkwardly. “Ah.”

She chuckled, pushing a stray hair behind her ear. “You know, I think you care more about Trixie than you care to admit. You already had a plan for her to live here and everything.”

“The little urchin has—well, she’s grown on me over the years. Don’t tell anyone, I still have a reputation to uphold.” Lucifer winked, and she rolled her eyes for the second time that day.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” She looked around the penthouse, exhaling a breath. “Well, I should probably get some things. Some clothes, at least.”

“I’ll be here,” he responded.

The Detective gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, already making her exit. Before she reached the elevator doors, however, she turned around and called out to him. “Hey. I love you.”

That nervousness hit him again, and he froze, the words unable to escape him. “I...”

She smiled softly. “I know.” She left, the elevator doors closing behind her. 

Lucifer shook his head, the surreal reality of the situation finally hitting him. The Detective was _moving in._ He could finally keep her safe. He could protect her.

Maybe he had failed her before.

But he wouldn’t fail again.

He smirked, downing a drink and making his way to the bathroom. He cleared up space for the Detective’s items, creating an area for the offspring’s things as well. As he worked, Lucifer chuckled at who he had become. A domestic Devil.

Who could’ve guessed?


	20. Breakfast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place sometime in early season 3. A breakfast in bed goes horribly wrong. 
> 
> Enjoy!

"Offspring. _Offspring?_ I swear to Dad, what does it take to awaken a mortal child?"

Trixie slowly blinked herself awake, annoyed at being woken up after she had been having what was a very nice dream featuring plenty of chocolate cake. Her annoyance drained away quickly when she realized Lucifer was hovering around her door, hissing quietly at her. Trixie smiled. "Lucifer!"

Lucifer hushed her, glancing behind him. "Yes, yes, it's me, and I believe _Antarctica_ is now aware of my arrival."

Trixie got the hint, her eyes widening in realization. _Were they playing a game?_ "Oh," she said, as her voice dropped into a whisper. "Why are we whispering?"

"It's your mother's birthday, yes?"

"Yeah?" she answered, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

Lucifer sighed. "I'd like to ask for your assistance."

Any hints of exhaustion quickly left Trixie's system as her toothy grin widened. "With what?"

Lucifer glanced behind him again before stepping into the room, keeping himself at the door. He raised the level of his voice slightly. "I wanted to do something special for your mother. A celebration for another trip around the sun."

Trixie raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't that hurt?"

"It's an expression, child." he said patiently. "The point is, I require assistance with this task. There’s some chocolate cake in it for you."

"Okay!" Trixie tilted her head to the side. "What were you thinking?"

"Er, a car, perhaps? Or jewelry? There's a jewelry parlor owner who owes me a few favors--"

Trixie rolled her eyes. "She doesn't like that kinda stuff."

"She...doesn't?" Lucifer furrowed his eyebrows.

"Of course not, silly! Mommy always says, 'it's things from the heart that counts,'" Trixie recited. Lucifer still seemed confused, so Trixie scooted off the bed with a huff. “Come on, I have an idea.”

-

Ten minutes, a hushed half-whispering argument, and plenty of tip-toeing around the apartment later, Trixie and Lucifer stood in front of the open kitchen fridge.

 _“Breakfast?”_ Lucifer questioned incredulously. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. We could make the Detective breakfast any day. What makes this one so different?”

“It’s breakfast in _bed_ , _”_ she corrected. “It’s a birthday tradition! It’s different because it’s made with love. Nobody’s ever made you breakfast in bed?”

“I assure you, child, if I’ve ever had breakfast in bed, it’s an entirely different kind.”

“I don’t get it.”

“That’s a good thing.” Lucifer clasped his hands together. “Now, how do we do this ‘breakfast in bed?’”

Trixie reached for the milk and eggs inside of the fridge. “Chocolate chip pancakes?”

“Chocolate chip pancakes it is."

-

And that's when everything turned into a dumpster fire.

_Literally._

"Beatrice, grab the extinguisher!"

"We don't _have_ an extinguisher!"

"You mean to tell me that your mother, the most prepared mortal on Earth, does not have a fire extinguisher?"

"If we did, I would've gotten it!"

Lucifer groaned, grabbing a pitcher of water that Trixie had set aside for the breakfast-turned-fire. "Bloody hell." He poured the water onto a towel and threw the towel itself onto the burning stovetop, extinguishing the flames.

Trixie let out a breath, completely disappointed. “Well, I guess that’s the end of breakfast in bed.” 

“Yes, well, as long as the Detective doesn’t find out—”

The sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind them. Trixie and Lucifer stared at each other, eyes wide, before both of them slowly turned around to meet her mother’s unwavering glare.

There was a moment of silence where nobody knew what to say. Eventually, Trixie couldn’t stand the pressure. “It was my fault,” Trixie blurted. “I made the mess. Don’t be mad at Lucifer.”

Her face softened immediately as she crouched down to meet Trixie’s eye-level. “Monkey, of course I’m not mad.”

“You’re not?” Trixie asked, her voice small.

She shook her head with a smile. “No. I heard you guys talking about my surprise.”

“You did?” Lucifer asked from the side.

Her mother straightened herself, glaring at Lucifer. “Do you really think I couldn’t hear you both whisper-screaming in front of my door?”

“Right.” Lucifer responded quietly, glancing at Trixie.

Chloe sighed and looked around at the mess in the kitchen. Eventually, her gaze settled back on Trixie. “We’ll pick this up later. In the meantime, does takeout sound good?”

“We can still have breakfast in bed?” Trixie asked hopefully.

“As long as you’re eating with me, young lady.”

Trixie giggled. “Can Lucifer join too?”

Lucifer’s eyes widened. “Child, I doubt that—”

“If he _wants_ to,” Chloe began pointedly. “Then he’s welcome to join.”

Trixie grinned, staring up at Lucifer. After a minute, he nodded slowly. “I suppose, yes, I’d like that.”

Chloe smiled, which made Trixie feel warm inside. Lucifer made her mom happy—so if _she_ was happy, Trixie was happy. Not to mention, Lucifer had become one of the family over the last few years. Even if he pretended not to like her all that much, Trixie secretly knew that Lucifer cared about her and her mom. 

With him around, nothing would happen to either of them. She was sure of it.

“I’ll go order some food.” Chloe walked away, presumably to grab her phone. 

Lucifer looked down at Trixie with a huff. “Well, I believe we had a deal.”

“Nah, that’s okay.”

“You don’t want the chocolate cake?”

Trixie glanced around at the mess, and then briefly at Chloe, who was speaking to someone on the phone. Finally, she looked up at Lucifer. “I think I have everything I want.”


	21. Each Other's Miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place post season 5. A season 6, of sorts. Established Deckerstar, Dan and Ella know that Lucifer's the Devil, do with it what you will. Enjoy!

_“This is it. He’s officially gone insane.”_

Chloe had thought this over and over again throughout her and Lucifer’s partnership. Back when she was convinced that his constant Devil-talk was just inane metaphors, the sentence had run through her head at least three times a day.

Of course, now that she knew the whole truth, everything about Lucifer started making a bit more sense. He wasn’t the crazy madman that she had made him out to be in her head. He was just the Devil--which, okay, great. He was still Chloe’s partner, and she could handle his shenanigans in a way that nobody else could.

That is, until he had gone missing that morning.

She had woken up in an empty bed, an empty penthouse, an empty Lux. It wasn’t too unusual for Lucifer to be in the kitchen making breakfast for the two of them, but the smell of coffee and omelets were nowhere to be found on this quiet morning.

She didn’t think too much of it at first, making her way to the bathroom, checking her phone for any calls, and then going downstairs, only to be met by more silence.

Silence wasn’t like Lucifer.

Chloe got dressed and made her way to the precinct, calling him at every other light on the way there. Faint memories of constant worry and fear, white cloth surrounding Lucifer’s furniture, and bouncy blonde curls with a shiny wedding ring by Lucifer’s side ran through Chloe’s mind, but she shoved the thought into a small box and closed it.

They were together now, after all. He wouldn’t do that to her again.

She walked in through the precinct’s doors, her eyes glancing around for the tall annoyance that was her partner. Of course, he was nowhere to be found.

That pit in her stomach only grew when she asked Ella and Dan if they’d seen him.

“No, Chloe. Sorry.” Dan answered bluntly. He glanced away to his right, clearing his throat. Chloe had known him long enough--they were married, for crying out loud--to know that something was off. 

Her gaze wandered over to Ella, who was fidgeting with her ‘World’s Best Forensic Scientist’ mug. “You haven’t seen him either, Ells?”

“Nope!” Her voice had raised to a strangely high pitch. “Not recently. Well, I mean, I’ve seen him before, he has worked here for like five years, and I did see him yesterday.” Dan sent a glare her way, which made Ella’s eyes widen. “Err, by that I mean, at work! Yeah, at work. Our job. That we, um. Do.”

Ella quieted down, taking a sip from her mug. Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “Okay, what’s up? You two are acting weirder than normal.”

“To be fair, Ella’s always weird.” Dan interjected, prompting Ella to smack him in the arm. As he rubbed his arm with a grumble, Chloe rolled her eyes.

“In all seriousness, do you guys know where he is? Seriously, he hasn’t returned my calls, and the last time that happened...” she trailed off in thought. 

Every time that this happened, where he disappeared out of nowhere, wasn’t at work or at Lux, and didn’t return her calls, it was for some insane reason like, ‘I got married!’ or ‘I was kidnapped!’ or ‘Guess I have to go back to Hell to rule the demons there so that nobody dies on Earth!’

Which was not a sentence she would ever think about three years ago.

Ella frowned in sympathy. She glanced at Dan, making a split-second decision in her mind before dragging Chloe off to the interrogation room. Chloe could hear Dan calling out for them as they walked away. “Ella, if you ruin it, it’s your fault!”

“Not ruining anything, Dan!” she yelled back. Ella opened the interrogation door and practically hauled Chloe inside.

“What the--Ella, what was all that for?” Chloe could feel the force of the grip on her arm even though Ella had already let go of her. Who knew that the small-but-fierce woman had a death grip on her?

“Okay, I’m not telling you everything, because I’m a good friend, but because I’m also a good friend, I’m not gonna make you stress out more than you have to.”

Chloe raised an eyebrow. “You lost me.”

Ella let out a frustrated sigh. “Lucifer’s fine.”

“He is?”

“Yep. Perfectly fine.”

That was one worry off her shoulders, which meant Chloe could relax. Her relief didn’t last long, though. If he wasn’t in any danger, then _where was he?_ A sudden thought crossed Chloe’s mind and her heart began to race.“He’s not- he didn’t-”

Ella quickly caught on, waving her hands in the air. “No, no, he’s not in Hell. He’s still on Earth, safe and sound, promise.”

Chloe let out a breath. So he was still here, and he wasn’t in any prominent danger. “Okay, then where is he?”

Ella hesitated. “That, I’m not allowed to tell you.”

“ _Allowed?_ Ella, what the hell is going on here?” Chloe was exasperated at this point. It felt like she was going through the worst game of Charades ever created.

“All I’m supposed to tell you is that you should go to the beach.”

Chloe froze. “The _what?”_

“I said the bea--”

“No, no, I heard what you said.” Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose, gathering whatever patience she could muster from years of being a parent. “ _Why_ would I want to go to the beach?”

“For...reasons?”

“Ella, I’m going to need a straight answer.”

“I can’t give you one.” Ella blew a stray hair out of her face. “Just, trust me on this?” Ella gave Chloe her best puppy eyes, which Chloe could never really say no to. 

No bodies had dropped yet, there were no active cases that she had been assigned to, and she had finally caught up with her mountain of paperwork, so there was no harm in at least going to this beach and hopefully figuring out why everyone around her was being so strange.

Defeated, Chloe sighed. “What’s the address?”

Ella grinned.

-

Chloe recognized the beach immediately.

She hadn’t at first, based on the address alone, but the second that her foot hit the sand, she was hit with a wave of nostalgia.

The place that they had their first kiss.

Things had been so new back then; their affections had been just like the tide. Wading, receding, wading, receding, back and forth, back and forth. 

She was more than hesitant to jump head first into a relationship with her partner, the most eligible bachelor on all of _Earth_ , probably. After all, she was, well, her--Chloe Decker, single mom, homicide detective.

And she knew her own worth, but she was the polar opposite of him--Lucifer Morningstar, proclaimed (actual, she realizes with a huff) Devil, club owner, the physical embodiment of a party animal.

And yet, this same man would follow her around, case after case, with a fresh cup of coffee in his hand and a million quips on his tongue. He had her back before anything, as infuriating as he was sometimes. 

Thinking back, Chloe wondered how she didn’t realize how deep her feelings ran before.

A sudden breeze of salty air blew past Chloe’s face, bringing her back to the present. She clutched the sweater around her tighter, walking further into the beach.

That’s when she saw Lucifer.

The wave of nostalgia doubled at the sight of him. He held his jacket over his shoulder, staring off into the open ocean. Chloe noted that he was wearing his purple vest today--her favorite color on him, if she was honest--as she walked closer to him.

As she approached, Lucifer turned his head towards her, his smile reaching his eyes as it always did when she was around. She’d be lying if she said it didn’t give her butterflies in her stomach when his eyes were focused solely on her. 

“You gave me a heart attack, you know that?” Chloe greeted, in a teasing tone.

“Apologies, Detective.” His smile dropped slightly. “I didn’t mean to cause you to worry.”

Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes. “It’s fine.” She gazed at the ocean, the shining reflection getting her attention from the corner of her eye. The ocean was one of her favorite things--it was a shame that she didn’t get to come here with Trixie too often. “So, what are we doing here?”

“Do you know where we are, Detective?”

Chloe nodded. “We’re at the beach,” she joked.

He chuckled, but Chloe knew Lucifer well enough to gather that something was off. He was nervous. It was obvious in the way that he was all too still, and how his eyes kept sneaking glances at Chloe. “Yes, that we are. And, if you recall, this was the location of our first kiss.”

Chloe’s face flushed. “Right.”

“This was also,” Lucifer sighed with uncertainty. “-where I had Maze cut off my wings for the first time.”

“Oh.” Chloe felt ridiculous with her response, but truly, what could she say? His wings were a sensitive subject for him--they always had been--so for him to be openly sharing information like this was progress.

“I always thought they were a manipulation, courtesy of dear old Dad. Strings to hold me by, so I could dance for His bloody amusement like the puppet He turned me into.” His words held heat, but not towards her. She knew he wasn’t upset at her.

( _He never really is_ , she thought quietly.)

Lucifer took a breath, his eyes finally meeting hers. “And I thought you were a part of that manipulation as well, for some time.”

Chloe knew the feeling all too well. After all, after she’d heard that she was a miracle, it felt like she’d been manipulated. Born solely to be Lucifer’s partner, with no control over her own feelings. Still, they had worked it out.

They were each other’s miracle.

“So, I ran. Time and time again, I found myself running because I wouldn’t let Him win. I couldn’t.” Lucifer continued. “But I was wrong.”

As he spoke, the sound of the tides wading in and out surrounded them. Chloe furrowed her eyebrows. “Where are you going with this?”

“The point is, Detective, I’ve made many, many mistakes in my life, I can admit that now.” Lucifer turned to face her now. “But the ones that I regret the most--regret at all, really--are when I’ve left _you_ behind.”

His words melted her heartstrings, especially knowing that everything he said was the truth, but she couldn’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop. _‘Was this a break-up of some kind?’_ her inner voice supplied.

“And, I’ve spent the last month or so racking my brain for the best way to do this, but you deserve the plain truth, so here it is.” 

“Lucifer, what--” she hissed as he softly grabbed her hands. It was at this moment she thought, ‘ _This is it. He’s officially gone insane.’_

“Detective, I have been lucky enough to be your partner for the last five years, working by your side. And I never believed that I could truly feel human feelings before, but here we are.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I never saw myself as deserving of you. I still don’t. But I’d be honored if you’d allow me to spend the rest of my years proving myself and my dedication to our partnership.” 

After a beat, Lucifer slowly lowered to his knee. Chloe found her hands raising to her mouth in surprise, much like all of those Hallmark-movies that she had seen as a kid.

He slowly reached into his jacket’s pocket and brought out a small, black box. Chloe’s heart was racing as she stood frozen, the wind flying past her becoming a faint sensation as her focus remained on Lucifer.

He opened the box, revealing a shining, glimmering silver ring with a lapis lazuli stone in the center. It reflected the color of the ocean--it was truly beautiful. 

“Detective...” The corners of his mouth lifted into a soft, small smile. “ _Chloe_. Will you--”

“Yes.”

He blinked. “What?”

“I said yes,” Chloe grinned. She held out her hand, almost giddy as he slid the ring onto her finger. It was a perfect fit--she didn’t even question how he had gotten her measurements as he slowly stood back up, dazed.

“I’m sorry, did you really say--” Lucifer started, before Chloe threw her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. He tensed for a moment, but quickly relaxed into the embrace. He chuckled, tightening his arms around her.

The sounds of the tide felt like home then, but not because of her love for the ocean or her connection to the sea. It felt like home because of her love for her partner.

The Devil.

Who could’ve seen that coming?

They pulled away, both of them with ridiculously happy grins. That’s when he kissed her, and the whole world fell away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So, normally I don't write out long notes at the end of my one-shots, but I just wanted to thank you guys for everything. Really, you have no idea how happy it makes me to wake up and realize that some of my content was actually enjoyed. (Also, I know that my earlier one-shots are kind of tough to get through, so I appreciate you guys sticking with me as I hopefully improve with my writing.)


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